KENMORE, N.Y. — Some theatre students at Kenmore West High School are getting a lesson in adversity and how to overcome it.
Their story is no Greek tragedy but it does involve more drama than even they might be accustomed to.
For theater teacher and director Diana Gruninger and her student performers, it's a busy time as their production of D.W Gregory's Radium Girls is set to take to the stage for three performances beginning Thursday, November 2.
All was going smoothly until two weeks ago when a pipe unexpectedly burst during a construction project on an upper floor of the 84 year old school on Highland Pkwy.
High Drama at Kenmore West
Water came cascading down through the ceilings and floors below, eventually collecting in a first floor room which houses the theater's department's costumes and props, and another where microphones, lights, and other electronic equipment used in their productions were stored.
"The water was just coming down like it was raining in here," said Gruninger, who also described seeing scripts floating in several inches of water. "It was almost surreal to walk in and see and to know we had a show in just two weeks."
For fear of mold, it was several days before Gruninger was even allowed to enter the rooms. And, for the same reason, many of the items amassed through years of performances had to be disposed of.
This included the water logged lumber they were poised to use for set construction.
"All of our 2x4's..." sighed Gruninger. "And wood isn't cheap these days."
While items lost can eventually be replaced, that will take time. And time was something of the essence.
However, as they say, "The show must go on".
The Show Must Go On
"We never really thought about not doing the show. We just wondered how we were going to do it," said Gruninger.
Students and their parents began canvassing local businesses for donations, while others reached out to their contacts to see what could be scrounged.
"One of the dads knew someone who knew someone... so they brought in lights and cords and sound equipment and all sorts of things they loaned to us for the production," Gruninger recalled, to illustrate just one example of how things were pulled together.
Others volunteered to come in and help in whatever way they could.
"We've been here till ten or eleven o'clock many nights with my lovely crew," Gruninger said.
That crew included Hannah Kaderabeck, a senior, who landed the lead role in the production.
"This community just really came together," she said.
Lessons for a Lifetime
School is a place of learning filled with teachable moments.
The lasting one for these young people, which they may carry into adulthood, is that life can throw you unexpected curves.
"There are hardships and there are struggles. I think this really will teach me and my peers just how to deal with those situations," Kaderabeck said.
It also turns out that this crew is no stranger to adversity. Last year they lost their costumes in the DC Theatricks fire and before that, the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed performances.
"So, we've now endured a fire, a flood, and plague," said Grunninger, adding that with less than a week to go before the curtain goes up, there are already many who could deservedly take a bow, not the least of whom are her students.
"I have never seen kids like theater kids. They truly are a family... they plant themselves and they figure it out and they make it happen. And I am incredibly proud of the work that they have done."
To purchase tickets for a performance of Radium Girls follow this link.