Breaking The Fourth Wall
East High Theater Director Matt Murphy, On Rewards, Challenges And Pippin
Story and Photos by Reid Neureiter
Special to the GPHN
From Feb. 28 through March 3, the Denver East High School theater department, in conjunction with East’s orchestra, dance and visual arts departments, presented the spring musical, Pippin. Originally produced on Broadway in 1972, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, the original Broadway production was directed by Bob Fosse.
The premise of the musical is a mysterious performance troupe, led by a leading player, telling the story of Pippin, a young prince of the middle ages, son of Charlemagne, as he experiences war, patricide, romance, and eventually fulfillment.
In an exclusive interview, East theater director Matthew Murphy shared his thoughts about the production, as well as the rewards and challenges of teaching in the Denver Public Schools system. Murphy, a Park Hill resident who lives at Kearney and 22nd Avenue, led East’s renowned speech program for nine years. He became theater director four years ago, and works with technical director Deborah Voss.
GPHN: How many students were involved in the production of Pippin?
Murphy: 150 students were involved. The musical is a joint product with the orchestra, choir, dance, visual arts and theater departments. The orchestra meets just like the actors and rehearses on their own time and all members volunteer to participate. It is truly amazing to have a full orchestra with our productions – one of the few high schools in the state of Colorado to have such collaboration and partnership.
GPHN: What challenges, if any, did you have in launching the production? Did the strike, or snow days, have any impact?
Murphy: The greatest challenge is always trying to figure out why you are trying to tell the story. How the group wants to understand it and perform it. But this year there were some unexpected challenges. The strike created such a disturbance into the rehearsal process not only for the teachers but also for the students. During the time of the strike the students commandeered the auditorium and held rehearsals themselves. They acted as the teachers and directors. Each student showed up and participated, collaborated and worked on the production. It was inspiring. All in all, from the strike to the snow days the students and directors missed a week of rehearsal. Being a week behind was stressful. But to be honest, we never feel like we have enough time. That is always the difficult part when you are working with so many people on a product that has a set performance date. You actually have to show the final product to a live audience and there is always a desire to have just a few more moments to play with the presentation of the story.
GPHN: The set design and choreography were remarkable. What role did the students play in the design of the sets, the costumes, and the choreography? Particularly impactful was the “war” scene, with the use of mannequins to simulate bodies and red boas to simulate blood.
Murphy: The groups of students in the technical theater and directing classes are asked to read the play and develop concepts based inside and around the story months before we start. The designs for this production were extremely collaborative. In the technical theater class students worked through set, costumes, light, makeup, sound, props and dramaturgy. The freshmen learned magic tricks and the cast was constantly discovering new ideas through rehearsal and research. The scene with the mannequins was collaborative in every step of the creation process. The mannequin idea came from the need to show the carnage of death and war during the song of Glory. The students loved that the mannequins served to represent the inhumane and artificial treatment of human bodies during the glorification of war. The color red became a symbol of blood and the students wanted to show war more theatrically. The choreography and use of props was always done through the rehearsal process with the directors and actors asking each other, “How does this push forward the narrative of the script?” and “How [do we] tell this story while being honest and respectful to the process?”
GPHN: Are there any performers that stood out in particular for you that bear special mention that you might expect to do well in college or professional theater?
Murphy: Senior Nawledge Brewington was one of the leading players and was also the costume designer for the show. This year he also was the musical director for the fall musical, Once on This Island. He loves theater and loves telling stories. This trait will always benefit him. His tenure in the department has made the department so much better, more inclusive and more excellent. He will be a success wherever he goes and he will be missed.
GPHN: Describe the working environment at East, and your job running the theater department.
Murphy: East High School has been an oasis for teachers. The location, history, pride and fame is unmatched by most other schools in the city. Teaching at East is teaching in a small town: 2,700 students and over 180 teachers. It is a community all to itself and it has drawn through its doors some amazing talent. I work with Keith Oxman, who is one of the most prolific jazz musicians in the nation. [Pippin Technical Director and Stage Manager] Deborah Voss was a professional in the theater business for a decade. This school has always attracted amazing people – just look at its alumni. But teaching has been a rough road inside a school district that is more segregated now that it was in the 1960’s. Funding is so low for such great need and the district that has been our employer has been so top-heavy for so long, the reality of being a teacher has been a complicated one. From pay to respect, being a teacher has been demanding. I am so grateful that after the strike I will be able to continue teaching in Denver Public Schools and at East High School. But the problem still remains which is the hard part about education. It is this bizarre reality that the only way to be “successful” or “promoted” is by leaving the classroom and joining the administration ranks. I love teaching, I love directing and most of all I love working with the students and creating with them. I really do love East High School and I have spent the better part of my life walking into that beautiful building believing in the magic of teaching. But like all great love stories, it’s complicated.