Students Enjoy Making 'May-Hem' at WHS

Students at WHS showcased their musical talents to support the Westfield Theatre Guild at May-Hem on Saturday, May 18 in the WHS auditorium.

May-Hem was created three years ago by Claire Dorwart, who is now a senior at WHS.

“Month after month [the theatre] department’s funding was cut down despite the countless awards our productions received. It seemed as though a Rising Star Nomination for Best Production in New Jersey would just never compare to winning a Soccer State Championship,” said Dorwart. “During the summer before my sophomore year I noticed two big problems with this scenario. One being that if the department did not receive funding, our department would die and over 100 students would not have a place to belong and two, even if we were to receive funding what outlets do the 70 students who do not make the musical have to perform in?”

To solve the problem, Dorwart created May-Hem, a student-run production whose proceeds would go to the WHS theatre department. May-Hem has now become a highly successful school talent show with hundreds of students involved, either as audience members, performers, or behind the scenes stage and set crew. This year, there were over 100 WHS students and alumni participating in the event, according to Dorwart.

Said Senior Lydia Oquendo, who has been with May-Hem from the start and served as Stage Manager this year, “May-Hem has become such an important part of the theatre department. Though its main function is being a fundraiser it has really become an outlet for students who want to do something on or off stage.”

Senior Rob Cassie, who served as Technical Director and has also been with the show for three years said, “My favorite part of the production is the great energy that the students bring. It's great to have a student-run show with all student performers.”

Performances ranged from show tunes to classical instrumental pieces. “Everyone congratulated everyone and it was a very welcoming and supportive environment. I got a chance to meet a lot of new people and reunite with people I haven't seen since middle school. It was very well organized and overall a great night,” said sophomore Gabby Brennan, who performed “Harry Potter in 99 seconds.”

Senior Ed Han, who performed in multiple acts said, “The best part of the experience is definitely watching performers, who I have never seen perform before, blow me away with such amazing talents.”

The event was divided into two acts with an intermission in between. The performers were very diverse with freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors represented throughout the show.

“It’s nice to see performers from each grade be represented at the event, because that's what keeps May-Hem and the Theatre Guild so strong and keeps it growing in opportunities to have fun and express ourselves,” said senior Veronica Murphy.

According to Dorwart, some changes that were made this year were the creation of a playbill as well as the foundation of the Public Relations and Marketing position by Lauren Echausse, who reached out to local businesses to sell ads for the playbill. Smith will also be taking over the production next year.

“May-Hem is whatever the students envision it to be. It serves as a creative outlet and a venue to do whatever it is you love. I can't speak towards direct changes for next year but I know it is going to be amazing,” she said.