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the remarker | Friday nov. 2, 2012
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BLUE OUT Geoffrey Stanbury, seventh grade humanities teacher, worked a variety of jobs for the Blue Man Group. While promoting the show, Stanbury embraced the bizarre quality of the Blue Man Group and enjoyed the experience.
blues Feelin’ the
Students around the school are just now getting to know first year instructor Geoffrey Stanbury. When they talk to him, they’ll learn something unique about his past — he spent time as a member of the Blue Man Group.
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lue Man Group is one of the most iconic performance shows in the country. With thousands of performances over the last 25 years, the unique Blue Man Group has entertained millions of fans with the show. Geoffrey Stanbury, a first year humanities teacher, knows what it feels like to be involved with this famous show. He knows the feeling that comes when the curtain goes up and the lights come on. As a teen in Boston, Stanbury worked on the set of Blue Man Group before later getting paid as a promoter of the show. Arts editor Aidan Dewar spent time with Stanbury to learn the details of his involvement with Blue Man Group.
Describe the details of your involvement with the Blue Man Group.
“My involvement began as a week-long high school internship during my junior year. I spent the week shadowing most of the technical positions (e.g. lighting operator, stage manager, various backstage positions, etc.) in order to develop a sense of how a professional theater operates. After my internship ended, I kept going back on most Saturday nights to help out; generally, I would take on some of the routine pre-show prep work, such as stuffing bananas into long lengths of plastic tubing, tying knots into crepe paper rolls, etc. “I also got to perform at the climax of each show by painting my face and going out into the crowd, where I’d rock out and ensure that audience members stayed more or less seated. I also helped out a little bit when Blue Man Group recorded their first studio album. After about a year of that, they hired me on for a new summertime position wherein I went to free concerts around Boston and basically promoted the show. Apparently, ticket sales went ‘through the roof ’ that summer, so I guess I did something right.”
How did you get involved with Blue Man Group?
“I got involved during junior year high school. At my high school in Massachusetts, Commonwealth, every student gets three weeks off in March. At least one of the weeks must be dedicated to some kind of independent study. Some students
worked on photography, community service or research. Blue Man Group was in Boston at the time, and I knew someone who was involved with Blue Man Group, so I got an intern position. I went to Blue Man Group every night of the week. I followed different positions of Blue Man Group to see ‘how theatre operated.’ After that, I would just show up every Saturday night and see what they had to do.” What were your favorite moments?
“At the end of the show, high energy music starts playing and crepe paper starts falling from the ceiling. The Blue Men are going around quickly. I was in the crowd painted with glowing paint and I would be jumping around, throwing crepe paper, and having fun. One time, I sat with the Band during the show. I sat with the drummer right by me, and I got to watch him and the whole band do their thing. Every time I got to be backstage during the show, it was really cool.”
What was the most challenging part?
“The hardest part was the first day of promoting. I walked to a concert, and I had a bunch of promotional materials. I had no idea exactly what to do. I knew I had to get the word out, but I didn’t want to bother or heckle people. I kind of freaked out a little bit. But, I embraced the bizarre quality of the Blue Man Group. I became more comfortable talking to random people and I tried to get in conversations with people to promote it. “I didn’t want to just shove pamphlets in peoples’ faces. It got better, and some people even wanted my autograph. I told them I wasn’t a celebrity, but they were just excited about this popular show.”
Describe your journey from post-Blue Man Group to St. Mark’s.
I didn’t want to just shove pamphlets in peoples’ faces. It got better, and some people even wanted my autograph. I told them I wasn’t a celebrity, but they were just excited about this popular show.
“For College I went to NYU and then transferred to Sarah Lawrence. There, I concentrated on Music and Theatre. Eventually, I went to the University of Chicago and got my masters’ degree in humanities. After that, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. There was an info session taught by [History Department Chair] Byron Lawson, talking about teaching at Private Schools. His advice was invaluable. I taught first at Elgin Academy in Illinois. When I felt it was time to take another step, I talked to Mr. Lawson who I had stayed in touch with. It so happened that there was a position open, and I was lucky enough to be allowed to teach at this school.” How did you go from theatre to teacher?
“I got into Blue Man Group because I was interested in theatre. I did it at NYU and Sarah Lawrence. But, at Sarah Lawrence, my favorite professors happened to be Literature professors. I didn’t have some kind of “plan” at the start. All of the pursuits were really interesting. “Even later, I worked for a record label and radio station before I was sure that I wanted to become a teacher. I chose academics because I felt I had more to gain. I had made big strides in my learning and felt it was the best path for me.”
What about your time with Blue Man Group has applied the most to teaching?
“One time, one of the three original Blue Men was talking about the philosophy behind the show. He believes that in order to achieve some sort of higher success, one needs to pass through a chaotic period where everything is about to fall apart. There are metaphors for this throughout the show. That really spoke to me. “I’ve taken a lot out of this belief that there is always room to take a step forward, but you have to go through a tough time first. You have to be brave enough to work through the hard times before you can achieve success.”
Other thoughts?
“It was just so cool to be a young kid hanging out with older people in a good environment. I was always the kid, but it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot.”
Feelin’ the blues story by Aidan Dewar, arts editor | photo by Michael Doorey, head photographer
iCelebrate video contest to give prizes to video with the most likes By Alex Kim staff writer The iCelebrate contest hopes to raise money for the school and the Centennial Challenge Campaign and bring the school community together. Each year, the annual auction, which is open exclusively to parents, alumni, and friends, is a venue planned by the Parents’ Association to raise money for the school. The “auction” itself is actually more of a dinner party and has an entertainment highlight according to iCelebrate chair Kristin Simenc. The highlight this year will be top YouTube videos submitted by students and faculty. “We always wanted to include the boys,” Simenc said. “But because it’s an adult event, they can’t be there. So, we tried to figure a way for the boys to ‘be’ there. That’s how we thought of the YouTube contest.” Anybody in the school community, in-
cluding students and teachers, can submit a video to the “celebratesm” YouTube channel. “We want kids to submit anything,” Simenc said. “From their sports to them hanging out to a story to them doing some sort of talent.” Every month, the video with the most likes (dislikes don’t count) wins $500 worth of Apple Store credit, and at the auction itself, attendees vote for which of the monthly winning videos is their favorite. The grand prize winner will receive $2,500 of Apple Store credit, for a total of $3,000 for the winning video. In addition, iCelebrate offers what they call “iCelebrations,” which are pay-as-yougo parties. Students are not allowed at these parties except for those that are for father and sons. “They are really small parties,” Simenc said. “It’s very limited so it’s not overwhelming for the host but intimate enough so that hope-
fully people from a variety of different classes and grades can go.” The ultimate goal of iCelebrate auction is to help the Parents’ Association in its commitment to the Centennial Challenge Campaign of $1 million. The money goes to fund a variety of facilities, faculty endowment and underwrite the Parents’ Association.
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“This year, we’re trying to blow the numbers off,” Simenc said. “We would really like to make the commitment. But if we don’t make
that, the whole purpose is for everybody to have a great time and to feel community spirit and appreciation for St. Mark’s. And no matter what money we raise, that is really our goal.” iCelebrate offers more events and options including a raffle for $10,000 worth of Northpark Gold, which can be used as cash at all participating Northpark Center theaters, retailers, restuarants and spas, posting “iBrags” on the website to acknowledge someone or something and purchasing SM merchandise. Everything is explained online at www.celebratesm.org. “We want everybody from the entire school to get involved,” Simenc said. “It’s not just a group of people that do the auction; it’s the entire school. And we want the faculty to be involved in the videos, and we want them to know how much we appreciate them and we love them. We want everyone to feel a part of it.”