the story of syosset high school theatre arts
The Association of Creative Thespians was founded by English teacher Carol Glaser in the 1983-1984 school season. "Mrs. G," as she was affectionately called by her students, produced and directed the shows until her retirement in 1989 and sadly passed away in August of 2021. When perusing yearbooks from the 1980’s one can see evidence of an interesting concept Mrs. G incorporated as you can find images of Student/Faculty productions such as M*A*S*H presented under the ACT banner which utilized faculty performers. She felt it was a great way for students and faculty to get to know each other outside of class and make a connection to create art together. In addition to faculty onstage, during those years you would see personalities such as a young Idina Menzel who participated in one of ACT's early productions (a revue called "Let's Go Back to Yesterday"), as did News 12 NJ reporter Marci Rubin, actor Bryan Coffee , writer Keith Planit and TV producer Alex Chauvin. When Mrs. G retired, science teacher Ann Cassin took over for a year, directing a revue called "Here's Broadway" and the spring show "You Can't Take It With You" during the 1989-1990 school year.
In the early ‘90’s student participation dwindled to only a few dozen members, but fortunately the group has grown to where today we can boast well over 100 members - all following their passion of creating theatrical magic either onstage or backstage. So much so that ACT currently produces three mainstage productions, a Student Directed One Act Play Competition, three showcases and three student directed full length shows in our Little Theater. And we're always looking for more ways to engage our students.
When all is tallied up, ACT has had a reputation of producing quality theatre for the Syosset Community for close to 50 years. Going through many iterations, ACT now boasts many more alumni who are working in various capacities in the theatre arts as performers, designers, directors, writers and choreographers.
The Theatre Arts Program at Syosset High School itself has only been in existence for the past 27 years. The courses and performance opportunities offered by the Theatre Arts Program are designed to meet the needs, interests and talents of our students who are interested in theatre and dance, and we feel it is unique among Long Island High School programs. Although intended to introduce students to skills and techniques they will need to pursue a possible career in these disciplines, these courses present ALL students in the high school the opportunities to develop self-expression and appreciation through participation in various theatrical productions.
In addition to the experience and training provided in the classroom, students are encouraged to put theory into practice by participating in the numerous theatrical activities produced by The Association of Creative Thespians. Furthermore, if there is an area of interest to students where we do not offer classroom instruction, various independent study projects are available for students to pursue in areas of the Theatre Arts. These include costume design and construction, theatre arts management, directing, choreography, lighting/sound design, dramaturgy, and playwriting.
This partnership between after school Association of Creative Thespians and the curricular Theatre Arts Program has led to a wonderful and unique co-curricular program that has produced some outstanding and memorable productions over the years (click on the gallery above to see some of our recent productions) - and we're only just getting started!!!
1997 - 1998 The Philadelphia Story
The Comedy of Errors
1998 – 1999 Stage Door
The Taming of the Shrew
1999 – 2000 The Crucible
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2000 – 2001 Cosi
Damn Yankees
Hamlet
2001 – 2002 You Can’t Take it With You
Fiddler on the Roof
The Tempest
2002 – 2003 Museum
The Music Man
Macbeth
2003 – 2004 The Man Who Came to Dinner
West Side Story
Romeo and Juliet
2004 – 2005 The Laramie Project
OKLAHOMA!
As You Like It
2005 – 2006 The Compleat Works of Willam Shakespeare (abridged)
Grease!
Much Ado About Nothing
2006 – 2007 I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Sweet Charity
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2007 – 2008 Noises Off
Footloose!
Comedy of Errors
2008 – 2009 Witness for the Prosecution
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Twelfth Night
2009 – 2010 Almost, Maine
High School Musical
The Merchant of Venice
2010 – 2011 Our Town
Bye Bye Birdie
The Laramie Project
2011 – 2012 The Complete History of America (abridged)
Beauty and the Beast
All’s Well That Ends Well
2012 – 2013 The 39 Steps
Seussical: The Musical
The Two Noble Kinsmen
2013 – 2014 You Can’t Take it With You
How To Succeed in Business …… Trying
Romeo and Juliet
2014 – 2015 The Triangle Factory Fire Project
Shrek: The Musical!
The Taming of the Shrew
2015 – 2016 The Crucible
Les Misérables
As You Like It
2016- 2017 The Compleat Wks. Of Wllm Shakespeare (abridged)
HAIR!
Macbeth
2017- 2018 I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Cinderella
Twelfth Night
2018- 2019 Museum
Mamma Mia!
Much Ado About Nothing
2019- 2020 Almost, Maine
The Little Mermaid
2020- 2021 One Stoplight Town
Julius Caesar
High School Musical
2021-2022 She Kills Monsters
The Addams Family
A Midsummer Night's Dream
2022-2023 Puffs
Legally Blonde - The Musical
Romeo and Juliet
2023-2024 Peter and the Starcatcher
Chicago: High School Edition
The Winter's Tale