By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Returning for their 25th year, the Open Fields Theatre Group is in rehearsals for their upcoming special performance of “Grease" at Dover-Sherborn High School. There are approximately ninety kids included within this performance all coming from different towns, including but not limited to Dover-Sherborn, Needham, Walpole, Medfield, and Wellesley. This group has been rehearsing for their upcoming shows since October of last year.
Open Fields was started back in 1999 by Kieth and Tina Greenfield, along with some other families. When talking with Keith about this incredible group, he stated, “We started this group because there was a void in the arts within Dover and the surrounding communities. We wanted to teach our own children how to give back and our kids are in their thirties. They all started in Open Fields when we first put this group together. There are only four people that were in the original cast of the “Grease" performance that we did back in 2006 and some of them have come back for this performance. So we are bringing back “Grease” after eighteen years.”
The ninety kids included within this performance all range in age, anywhere from second to twelfth grade. The younger kids in this group are known as the ‘openers,’ in which they will perform in lieu of the original overture that is seen at the beginning of the musical and before the second act. This allows a chance for all of the kids to have an opportunity to perform on stage and have their own moment to shine. An amazing part of the Open Fields group is that no child is ever ‘cut’ or turned away from performing.
Behind the scenes in the production of this musical are some very hard-working and dedicated parents. One of which happens to be the Assistant Vice Principal at Medfield High School, Brenda Hagan. Not only does she help out with rehearsals, but she also will be joining the stage with her two children as the very fitting character, Principal McGee.
Also helping with this show is Sarah Clancy who was once a part of Open Fields herself and played Rizzo back in the 2006 production of “Grease”. After becoming a real actor in New York, she decided to move back home to Dover and become a teacher. She has been co-directing and co-choreographing for Open Fields for eleven years now and could not have been more thrilled to return to her original roots.
When talking with some of the kids within this group, they all said the same thing: how much Open Fields feels like a family community. Brianna Sherman from Needham has been within the Open Fields group for eight years now and will be graduating in June. She went on to state, “There weren’t as many little kids when I first joined in fifth grade but over the years the number has grown a lot. I absolutely love being a part of this group because of the friendships I have made with people from other towns. Over the years, it has been incredible to fill into the kind of big sister and leadership role. Everyone is welcome here and we all are just one big family.”
Maya Hagan from Sherborn, Cavi Carroll from Sherborn, Lauchlan Perdono from Wellesley, Brynn Cullum from Dover, and Zeeva Feinstein from Walpole all beamed over how incredible this group of kids are. “It never really feels like we are coming to rehearsal,” Brynn stated, “but rather we get to come and have fun with our friends doing something we love to do.”
Open Fields Theatre Group will be performing “Grease” at DS High School on Saturday, January 20th, Sunday, January 21st, Saturday, January 26th, and Sunday, January 27th. For more information about tickets, please visit their website at www.open-fields.info.
