A C H A P E L TA L K
by Monica Spencer Green ’87, Trustee April 24, 2015
Lessons
from Behind the Scenes
voces
I
n 1984, I came to Groton in Fourth Form, shy, quiet, barely fourteen, and I spent a lot of time in that first year trying to be invisible. I was the youngest student in my form, I had never studied Latin or Greek, and I had no athletic ability: I’m pretty sure I was afraid someone would notice I didn’t belong at Groton. I must have hoped that if I kept my head down, made passing grades, and didn’t get into trouble, I could sneak out undetected in three years. My lack of qualifications was very nearly exposed that first winter when it came time to select a sport. I had muddled through thirds field hockey in the fall without incident. But ice hockey or squash was really too daunting. A kind Sixth Former suggested I could substitute the Dramat for my winter athletic requirement, which came as an enormous relief. But acting (!?) was out of the question. Since I knew how to sew, I signed up for the Costume Department. And thus was born a love of the theater that has been for me, at various times, an extracurricular activity, a community, a career, a hobby, an escape, and a gift that I love to share with my friends and family. At first, it was about the responsibility and the craft of working on the tech staff. I moved from costumes to props and sets over my time at Groton, and I loved the creative project of beginning with a text and ending with the illusion of a place and a time. Resources were limited and I cringe at my memory of the “production values” of a few painted flats and some scruffy furniture handed down through the ages. But I credit Groton, and Mr. Harmon in particular, for giving me the autonomy, and the patience, and repeated trips to the Ayer lumber yard, to learn on the job. With an electric drill, a staple gun, and a few like-minded students, we created illusion. We did it for the fun of it, for the tangible result of seeing our work on opening night, for the joy of working together on a project larger than ourselves. 68
Groton School Quarterly
•
Fall 2015
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I must have hoped that if I kept my head down, made passing grades, and didn’t get into trouble, I could sneak out undetected in three years.
Monica Spencer Green ’87