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After 29 years, Potsdam teacher directing her last musical play, 'Fiddler on the Roof,' Friday and Saturday

Posted 3/10/16

By MATT LINDSEY POTSDAM — Potsdam Central school music teacher Tammara D. Madeja will direct her final play at the school ending a 29-year run. When asked why she is involved with plays and …

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After 29 years, Potsdam teacher directing her last musical play, 'Fiddler on the Roof,' Friday and Saturday

Posted

By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM — Potsdam Central school music teacher Tammara D. Madeja will direct her final play at the school ending a 29-year run.

When asked why she is involved with plays and musicals Madeja says she “loved acting and singing in plays and musicals in elementary and middle school.”

She directs “Fiddler on the Roof” March 11 and 12 at Potsdam Central. For more see story.

She says her speech and drama teacher at her junior high school is one of the most inspirational people she has ever met and that at the time they had a thriving drama program.

“My older brother is an outstanding actor and singer and I enjoyed being in community theater musicals with him when he was in high school,” Madeja said.

Madeja teaches general music and choirs in grades 8-12 at Potsdam Central Schools. She began as the elementary music teacher at Lawrence Avenue Elementary School in 1987 and transferred to the high school in 1992.

Each musical and play has its special moments due to the unique contributions of the individuals involved, she said.

“Carousel was the first show I directed at PCS and the students were so excited to have a ‘real’ musical,” she said. “‘Crazy for You’ had amazing tap dancing and incredible leadership from the stage manager and lighting designer, Les Miserables had the kindest cast that anyone could wish for and outstanding singing and acting, she said. “West Side Story” had a splendid orchestra made up of student and community musicians.”

Madeja says this year's cast and crew have been special because of their work ethic, teamwork, and set construction skills in addition to great singing and acting.

The musicals that provided her the greatest challenges were “West Side Story,” “Les Miserables,” and “Into the Woods.”

“All three were very musically challenging and required great creativity in set design to accommodate our small stage and lack of wing space,” she said.

“Noises Off was the hardest play we've ever done…the same story is told three times about backstage antics of actors in a play,” she said. “It was hilarious…but definitely difficult.”

Madeja begins thinking about choosing a musical at the end of the previous school year.

“Over the summer I read scripts and research the music, casting requirements, and set design to see what will work with our stage and the students involved,” she said. It's important not to pre-cast in your mind because there are always surprises but you also have to have some sense of who you have to showcase the students' strengths.

Over the past several years, the role of Drama Club officers has expanded and they have been involved in the decision.

“Watching students work and grow through the process is extremely rewarding…it is truly a real world experience and involves the efforts of 85-100 people,” she said. “The students buy into the process and make many sacrifices to care about creating an outstanding performance through character development, singing, technical demands, musicianship, lighting, sound, set construction, set painting, publicity and box office.”

Aside from the students, Madeja says she loves watching a vision or dream in her head take shape over the course of a few months.

“As students and production staff bring their creativity and vision to the process, there is a contagious energy that is so rewarding and exciting,” she said. “When I talk to the cast on opening night, I always tell them that it is now their show. I'm just there as a member of the audience to enjoy their work. It's always very moving to give the show away.”

“One of my favorite stories happened during “Les Miserables,” she said.

There is a scene where a character throws himself off a bridge and technical capabilities couldn't have him jump forward so they decided to have him fall backward in a trust fall.

“I was quite nervous about it and stood onstage to watch the suicide each rehearsal until I was certain they were safe,” Madeja said.

At one of the dress rehearsals there was a crash and a scream so she ran up on stage to see what was happening and the boys were all laughing. They had knocked a chair over to make me think someone was hurt.

“It was such a terrific group of kids,” she said.

Some of the students who Madeja has worked with over the years make their living in theater but no one really well-known.

Originally from the Chicago area, she has a B.S. and M.S. in Music Education from the University of Illinois.

“I taught in Illinois for seven years before moving to Potsdam when my husband began teaching at The Crane School of Music,” she said.

Madeja and her family enjoyed Music Theater North when they first arrived in Potsdam in 1985.

“We were so pleased when Community Performance Series began bringing musical theater back to the North Country and asked us to be a part of it,” she said. “I enjoyed working with members of the community and young people who were my future students.”

“I've been blessed to work with a great team for many of the shows I've directed,” she said. Sue Waters can make a 1930s gas pump from plastic cheese puff containers. Alice Reed can costume 40 kids in period costumes on a shoestring budget, Theresa Witmer and Jill Rubio have given us outstanding orchestras to support the students, and Toby Grove makes my crazy ideas come to life. When I ask for a levitating witch, he makes it happen.”

She says it's been a privilege to work with hundreds of high school students through the years.

“Being a part of high school theater is such a special experience -- one that most students will never have again. To be a small part of an experience that means so much to them is completely fulfilling and rewarding.”