Many Staples athletes might complain about their vigorous schedule:
7:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m.– School
2:30p.m.-5:00 p.m.– Sports
6:00 — Shower
7:30 p.m.– Dinner
8:30 p.m.- 1 a.m. — Homework.
Some might ask: where are students supposed to fit in both a social life and sleep into this schedule?
But if you are a Staples Player, you would think this schedule is a dream.
A typical role in a Staples production will institute a 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday schedule, and that does not include the time students must devote to memorizing lines. However, during the two intense weeks preceding the production (Tech Week and Hell Week), Players explain that they can be here until after 9:00 p.m.
Players refer to these two weeks as “Tech Week,” when the tech crew learns how they will run the behind-the-scenes, and “Hell Week,” where the Players perform entire run-throughs of the production.
“We’re in full costume and makeup, and that usually goes until like 9:30 p.m.,” Sydney Gusick ’22 said. “We get meals to help us get through it.”
Despite the painfully long hours at school during this week, Players love what they do.
“I think that often times people are like, ‘How can you stay until 10:00 at night?’” Staples Player, Jamie Mann ’21, said. “Well, we love what we do. Everyday when we come into the theatre, we’re focused and we get the show done because it’s fun, it’s exciting and we get to hang out with people that we love.”
And on top of dance rehearsals, running lines and creating costumes, the Players also have to fit in another huge element into their schedule: school.
“The motto in Staples Players is that Players isn’t an excuse for work and work isn’t an excuse for Players,” Gusick ’22 said. “You shouldn’t be falling behind on work because of Players and you shouldn’t be missing rehearsal because of work.”
Players are expected to find the balance that’s right for them in order to succeed. However, this balance is often time-consuming.
“I really take upon weekends to really not do anything else except school work,” Camille Foisie ’21 said. “When [I’m] here, it’s working on theatre, and then all my other time outside of school is like ‘ok,’ working on school.”
Most Players also try to utilize any free time during the day.
“Typically, I try to get as much work done as I can during school, and I try to stay very focused during classes,” Naomi Schneider ’22 said. “Whenever I have time or a break in between a scene, I try to get something small done, like a reading that I have to do for a class.”
Despite the stress that this hectic schedule can sometimes induce, there are many benefits to joining an extracurricular group like Players.

“[Players] really has helped me manage my time better because we spend so much of our time here at the school,” Camille Foisie ’21 said.
In fact, according to The Good School Guide, a website that offers expert information that might help parents and students as children go through school, “Balancing a number of commitments can help to improve time management skills, while finding an area they enjoy or excel at.”
Another valuable aspect of doing Players is the relationships.
“You are on stage, and we are doing what we love,” Jamie Mann ’22 said. “We all love to act, we all love to sing, we all love to dance, and we all love to be working…but especially with our friends.”
Players are ready to get into the intense hours, as they prepare for the upcoming performance, Mamma Mia.
Through the long hours of Tech and Hell weeks and the stressful times cramming in schoolwork, there is one overarching idea that keeps everyone going: the end result of the production. People put in all this time because of their desire to put on the best show that they possibly can.
“There’s that cumulative main goal of getting on stage and doing the best that we can,” Mann ’22 said. “I think that everyone knows that, and everyone is there to be the best that we can be, and that’s why we’re so devoted.”