Anna Glushko and Glushko’s Academy of Performing Arts blend local talent with international ballet stars in phenomenal shows. The Friends of the Arts stage several professional shows through the year and the International Thespian Society engages our students in equally professional events.
The holidays bring even more performing arts treats with Marianas Visitors Authority’s annual Christmas in the Marianas and the United Filipino Organization’s Paskong Pinoy show.
Last weekend, in another holiday treat, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club collaborated with Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray Concert Band to stage “Rapunzeled.” The show was a huge success with two sold-out performances and audience members asking for encore performances.
Indeed, it is hard not to be thankful for such blessings, despite the many woes that beset us.
So, in that spirit, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club would like to count its blessings and thank all those that helped make “Rapunzeled” possible.
Much thanks go to Ed Arriola Jr. and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation for their generous support of the show and of the performing arts our community.
Thanks also go to Gilbert Saludez and HBR International, Frankie Eliptico and Northern Marianas College, Chay Aspa and R&M Printers, Jun Mamporte and Island Apparel, Das Krishnan and Fiesta Resort & Spa, Chris Nelson and KSPN Channel 2 News, Moneth Deposa and Saipan Tribune, Zaldy Dandan and Marianas Variety, David Chen, Andrew Sablan, and Tony Vedaguer.
We also acknowledge the support of Mount Carmel School’s Board of Directors, its board chair, Joseph LG. Taijeron, the school’s president, Margaret C. Dela Cruz, and the entire Mount Carmel School community.
We also thank the members of Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray Concert Band for joining us again for another successful production. You guys rock!
In particular, we thank Joeray Dela Cruz, a graduate of Saipan Southern High School and veteran of the Manta Band who helped arrange music for the show. We also thank Amber Mendiola for her vocal coaching of the lead cast members. We also thank the CNMI’s musical impresario, Mr. William DeWitt, who again and again makes magic happen with his work at Saipan Southern High School and with Pacific Winds.
And, last but certainly not least, we thank the parents, friends, and family of cast and crew members for their untiring support and for lending us their talented children. We couldn’t do it without you.
Now, more than ever, we need the performing arts and art in general. As our lives get harder and our world gets darker, we need art to help us understand ourselves and our world better. Art reflects who we are. Art makes us who we are. What Percy Bysshe Shelley said of poets could very well be said of all artists: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Art may not be able to legislate economic prosperity or political harmony, but it can certainly promote more understanding, more empathy, and more humanity within and between ourselves.
So, we should all support the arts more. And we most certainly should recognize and thank those who make the performing arts happen in our community.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
GALVIN DELEON GUERRERO
Adviser
Mount Carmel School
Theatre Club
