With 2023 seniors graduating, the SHS music and arts programs are losing some valuable members. This year, the SHS Drama team will lose their beloved stage manager, senior Madi Ferraro. Ferraro has been a part of the drama team since her eighth grade year.

“I started out in the drama team because there was this really cool girl in the Boys and Girls Club who was in the drama team, who I would later learn was the stage manager, so that sort of started my interest in eighth grade,” Ferraro said. 

During her five years in drama, Ferraro was a stagehand, actor and stage manager. She participated in the shows Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, Love/Sick by John Cariani, Our Town by Thorton Wilder, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin, An Evening With Edgar Allen Poe by Edgar Allen Poe adapted by Robert Mason, 10 Ways to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse by Don Zolidis and The Pajama Game by George Abbot and Richard Adler. Her favorite shows were Little Shop of Horrors and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 

“I have truly loved all the shows we have put on, but my favorite drama shows were either Little Shop of Horrors because of the set and how fun Audrey II was to see, or The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee because of how fun the show was written and the music. Both the shows were hilarious and the music written for both were amazing!” Ferraro said. 

Ferraro has learned invaluable lessons on leadership during her time as stage manager. Managing peers—a vital part of stage management—is no easy task, but Ferraro mastered it. During her senior year, Ferraro was also a captain of the Salida High School Knowledge Bowl team, which also required her to show leadership skills. At the beginning of her stage manager career, this task was something she struggled with. 

“The biggest challenge that I faced in drama was figuring out how to communicate with others in a way that was effective but also got my point across. Managing your peers can be really difficult, and it’s definitely a challenge that most don’t have to face until later on in life, but with the leadership role I was given as Stage Manager, I was faced with overcoming it early on in my career,” she said. 

After graduating, Ferraro plans on attending college at University of Colorado Boulder. She plans on studying aerospace engineering, a choice spurred by her love of math and outer space. While this career path doesn’t directly align with drama or theater, Ferraro will continue to utilize her leadership skills in any future career. 

“My leadership skills will help for one because more than likely there is a team below you [while being an engineer], so you have to manage your peers. I also gained connections from the drama team, so the connection building skills will help me,” said Ferraro. 

Ferraro knows that she will look back fondly on her time with the SHS drama team. With her departure, she has selected sophomore Athena Smith as the next stage manager and looks forward to seeing what she will do with the role. She plans on coming back to see the drama team’s future performances, and she will explore and support local arts in Boulder. Ferraro urges people to join the drama team because of the fantastic experiences she had with it. While this chapter of her life is coming to an end, she looks forward to seeing what the next one will bring!