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Harwich High School Arts News |
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| "The Outsiders" Director Wins Award |
| Hyannis Sound, Cape Cod's Boys of Summer performed at Harwich High School on June 11, 2008. Prior to the performance, Shannon Clouter Chandler was presented with an Educator of Distinction Award by Principal, Kevin Turner and Jackie Blute. |
Award Presentation
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Shannon Clouter Chandler (center) with plaque, Lorrie Blute (Patrick's mother) to the right of Shannon and several members of the cast of “The Outsiders” after the award ceremony.
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The Harwich High School Select Choir performed before Hyannis Sound. |
Hyannis Sound |
Shannon Clouter Chandler, a 2003 alumna of Harwich High School and Director of that school's Fall 2007 production of “The Outsiders” has been named a Joseph B. Whitehead Educator of Distinction for 2008. This honor is bestowed upon two hundred and fifty educators in conjunction with the Coca-Cola Scholars award program that allows finalists to acknowledge teachers who display “Exemplary Dedication to the Field of Education” and “who, with vision and purpose, enhance the minds and experiences of the future leaders of this country.”
Shannon was the choice of Patrick Blute, a 2008 graduate of Harwich High School and a Coca-Cola Scholar finalist. His words on the accompanying plaque explain his choice. “The creativity and passion you delivered while directing The Outsiders did not go unnoticed. You broadened my scope as an actor with your inventive exercises, expanded my outlook with your personal attention, and changed my life with your friendship. Thank you for your vitality and leadership. You are truly an Educator of Distinction”.
The award was presented on June 11 prior to a performance of the Harwich High School Select Choir and Hyannis Sound by Principal, Kevin Turner and Patrick's sister, Jackie Blute. Patrick was unable to participate as he is traveling around the world in 80 days as the World Traveler Intern 2008 for student travel agency, STA Travel. Shannon accepted the award stating “teaching means everything in the world to me.” Shannon received a B.A. degree in Theatre Education from Emerson College in 2007 and is “currently in retail management, but eagerly looking for the right full time drama position!!”
Funding for this award is provided by the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation which was founded in 1937 by Joseph B. Whitehead, Jr. in honor of his father, one of the original Coca-Cola bottlers.
Read more about Shannon below.
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
April 3 - April 5, 2008
Director: Deb Donovan .......................Musical Director: Rose Richard ............Choreographer: J. Joseph Burke |
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| Harwich High School Alumna Directs "The Outsiders" Nov. 2 & 5, 2008 |
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As she prepares to direct an evening rehearsal of the fall drama production of “The Outsiders” at Harwich High School, Shannon Clouter, (Class of 2003) remarks “This is exactly what I want to be doing.” At the early age of ten, she realized theater was her forte and she has actively pursued it as a career ever since. She excelled in high school theater arts classes and productions and during her senior year directed “The Night of January 16th” as an independent study project making her the first and only student director in the high school’s history. Then it was on to Emerson College, where her program of studies included acting, directing, play writing, poetry, improvisation and student teaching in the Boston Public Schools. She frequently returned to Harwich High School as a visiting teacher during school breaks and over weekends to offer day and week long workshops to students. Certified to teach Grades K-12, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Education last May and is currently managing two stores while job hunting for a full time drama teaching position as well as preparing for her May wedding.
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Photos courtesy of Ani Chandler |
| “The Outsiders” written by S.E. Hinton is based on the book by the same author which was part of the seventh grade reading curriculum at Harwich Middle School for fifteen years. Shannon fondly remembers reading it there with teacher, Alice Fabia. One student commented that "it was the best book we ever read in school". The plot involves rival teenage gangs in the 1950’s and touches on issues of social status, running from the law and ultimately death. Shannon predicts many an audience member will be teary eyed. |
Shannon prepares for each rehearsal with a lesson plan and has the goal of “making a play community”. She incorporates lively “warm up” sessions and is constantly taking notes and offering positive criticism during rehearsals. Her hard work is paying off. Cast member, MacKenzie Hamilton, a junior with an extensive acting background not only at Harwich High School but also at the Harwich Junior Theater, says "Shannon is a very different director from any I have worked with before. She is very encouraging to everyone, and has assembled a dynamite cast. She relates to us very easily because she's not a lot older than us. I’ve never before been in a show where everyone knows all their lines three weeks before the show. It’s just an incredible experience!
Shannon feels she is directing “the strongest cast” with which she has ever worked and thinks the cast/crew of approximately twenty-five students is “amazing” which would also describe what this alumna is giving back to Harwich High School.
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Photos courtesy of Ani Chandler |
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