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A celebration of life, joy and hope

by CAROLINE LOBSINGER
Staff Writer | May 6, 2022 1:00 AM

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SANDPOINT — Like the friends they portray, Sandpoint Waldorf's eighth graders are a tight-knit group.

The yearlong process of bringing "RENT: School Edition" to life has forged that bond even tighter.

There are nine students in the cast — all but one are SWS eighth graders and another is a recent alumni. As is common in the Waldorf system, the class and teacher go through the school process together. With this being their last year together, teacher Michael Seifert wanted the class performance to be as special as the group. Early on, he gravitated toward doing a musical, something the school had only done two other times.

A great deal of thought and consideration goes into choosing the curriculum presented to students. The musical was no different, Seifert said.

He estimates he watched more than 40 musicals, from "Sound of Music" to "Cinderella" in an effort to find just the right one for who the class is as well as the issues they are facing as young adolescents in today's world.

"Upon seeing a video of 'RENT' (Broadway edition) for the first time, I was moved to tears and left with the message of hope," Seifert said. "I marveled how this story was able to be, at its core, a celebration of life and at the same time touch upon the themes of our day: gender identity, sexual orientation, living with AIDS, drug use, and death."

However, he said he wondered if it was possible to tell it in an age-appropriate way. He quickly found there was a school edition of the musical that softened the themes but kept the musical's message. He further modified the story to fit young adolescents, with all but the most fleeting references to more adult themes.

"However, the story remains, brought by young actors from their vantage point," Seifert said. "They wonder at how complicated adults make things. They relate to the story of friendships, conflict, identity, fairness, and finding meaning in life."

The story is a great mirror for each of us, whether an adolescent or adult, he said, adding the students "keep in focus the simple message of hope" found in the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical by Jonathan Larson.

While parents and adults may wish otherwise, Seifert said the musical's message and themes are ones his students are dealing with.

"By eighth grade, they have friends that are dealing with major questions in life," Seifert said. "All the things that as parents, we don't realize that adolescents are really awake at this point."

Most of the students have cellphones and they or their friends are dealing with the issues at the center of "RENT." The reality is that they have questions and are seeking answers.

"They have friends who are experimenting with all the things that as parents we go …," Seifert said, ending with a gasp. "And we, as adults, we want to hide our heads in the sand, but they need us, they need adults who are willing to be there and answer their questions and have honest conversations."

The musical is a mirror of real life, but is also an incredible story of hope and friendship, a year in the life of a group of people, of loss, struggle and trying to find and live your dreams.

When Seifert presented the musical to his class as their project, he told them he had watched dozens of possible options, but kept coming back to "RENT." He played songs from the soundtrack and told the story in broad terms — and then asked the eighth graders what they thought.

The students said they were unsure at first, with several saying they were not fans of public singing. But as they talked about the musical's themes and its message of hope, they said they found that "RENT" was the right choice for them — that the musical was relatable to their lives and that they liked its message of hope and respect.

"I think you should be able to accept who people are, and love them for who they are," said one of the students.

While they were dubious in some regard about performing a musical, once they talked about the musical and listened to the songs, the students were sold. "RENT," they said, fit what they, as young adolescents, were dealing with, but also gave a message of hope.

And, after talking with the students' parents to ensure they were on board and to answer any questions, the hard work began.

The process to go from idea to production began this past summer, first with having the students just listen to the music and learn the songs. And then, through the process of learning the music, they began to learn their lines and then, in the past month, got serious about the choreography.

Seifert mapped out the Panida stage on the floor of the school's basement with tape and started building the platforms used in the musical. The students settled down to learn who the characters were.

"And at first, it seems like they have a lot of problems. As individuals, they're human. They're very human," he said. "And then we come to realize that oh, their hearts are golden. And it's like all of us, we have all these flaws. But in the core, we're really just [about] love. We're beautiful."

He hopes the students — and those who come to watch their gift to the community — come away with a message of joy and hope.

"There is such a sense of celebration of life, of joy" Seifert said. "That, through all our challenges and difficulties, that life, every day of life, is precious and beautiful. And we are our community, each other here. And so really the love for each other, the bonding that they have."

He said he has seen them grow as individuals and as a class, seen them rise to the challenge and watched as their bond with each other grew and tightened.

The students agreed, saying they are closer now than they have ever been.

"I think it's definitely been really bonding for our class," said one student. "We've definitely gotten closer, throughout the play. It kind of almost forced us to interact, which kind of turned out to be a positive thing, because we get along like a lot better now."

At first they worried about what people might say, about their reaction to the students performing "RENT" and their perceptions. But, those fears went away as they talked and began to connect in a deeper way, to realize that it's OK to be themselves — all parts of themselves — and have become better friends in the process.

"I hope people see the message of the play," said one student. "The play kind of brings up a lot of first-world problems that are like still existent today. So it's definitely good to like, consider those things and try to accept everyone."

Another message the students hope the audience gets from the play is to live your life to its fullest and to embrace what makes you unique and special.

"The message I want to get out is like, it's OK to be who you are and that to live the best life you have in the moment, because you never know when it ends."

For event information, go online to panida.org/event/rent-school-edition and to purchase tickets, go online to app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=136096.