40 Years of Back à Dos

Founding Artistic Director, Martha Stookey continued to helm the company for thirty-six years, and under her leadership the company took on ever-more ambitious productions of classical and contemporary works. A festival of student-directed one acts also became a standard feature of the season. Martha also fostered a range of long-term collaborations, notably with Shakespeare & Company (and its co-founder Dennis Krausnick) but also with foolsFURY, ShadowLight and others.

With time, Martha also brought in additional faculty collaborators. Laurence Hills was the first, and was key to bolstering the bilingual character of the program. A few years later, Franck Bessone, also joined the theater team, and became a key collaborator on classical, contemporary and original work. For Back à Dos 20th anniversary celebration in 1999-2000, Martha and Franck created a medieval theater festival, performed on the steps of Grace Cathedral. The integration of Brad Cooreman (Technical Director, Middle School Theater teacher) in 2001 and the arrival of David Williamson, as the school’s musical director, led to the inclusion of a full-length musical into the company’s season in 2003.

In 2006, Martha retired (but not really! She stayed on as the school’s costume mistress and resident costume designer through 2018!), and Michelle Haner took on the role of Artistic Director. A key opportunity for the program to grow and develop came in 2010, with the opening of the Dennis Gallagher Arts Pavilion. The pavilion’s creation, spearheaded by long-time Head of School Jane Camblin, was made possible thanks to the contributions of many community members. Harriet and Michael Moritz; Rena Bransten and Dennis Gallagher; Jeannik M. Littlefield; and Ron Kahn were among those whose vision and support were especially vital to creating this new, three-story home for the arts. Not only does it include a fully-equipped, black-box theater, but also rehearsal rooms, studios and gallery space all of which have been vital to growing the program.

Some highlights of Back à Dos growth over the past decade include the development of more robust local and international collaborations, and the cultivation of more new and original work, including première productions and immersive, site-specific projects. For example, the school produced the U.S. premiere of Fabrice Melquiot’s Unheard of World and, through the initiative of Music Director Phillip Lenberg, the West coast premiere of Ghost Quartet, by David Malloy.  The company undertook a year-long collaboration with renowned French director Moïse Touré to create the ambitious, inter-disciplinary, inter-generational Awaiting Dawn. It developed an original musical inspired by Proust, Three Mornings (written by Martha Stookey and David Williamson, directed by Franck Bessone). 

Additional key faculty collaborators over the past decade have included music teachers Loretta Duncan and Melinda Becker, and musical directors, Phillip Lenberg and, more recently, Alistair Hamilton. In 2018, Marie Walburg-Plouviez joined the Back à Dos team as the new French Theater Director and BJ Bandy-Rosado took on the role of Costume Mistress/Costume Designer.

The current faculty takes great pride in their role as teaching artists, privileged to share their passion, craft and expertise with many dedicated student-artists through teaching, collaboration and mentorship. They are also grateful to contribute to the school’s wider mission of educating young people to be engaged global citizens by helping them nurture vital 21st century skills. Theater is an art form in which student-artists express themselves fully and fearlessly, in their unique individuality, but ever as part of a shared project created with a larger team, and ever, to serve a greater community. Our students hereby garner valuable skills vital for their own self-expression (empathy, self-mastery, confidence, communication and performance skills) and for effective collaboration (team-work, commitment, patience, trust, empathy). Of course – the “play’s the thing”- and the faculty is privileged also to get to be part of this shared play, learning, discovering and creating in turn in the company of vibrant young people.

The Back à Dos Slapstick Award, originated by founding artistic director Martha Stookey, is given to one or more graduating seniors who have devoted extraordinary energy and devotion to the ensemble for all four years at International High School, not only appearing on stage, but also working behind the scenes.

The Slapstick Award embodies the ethos of Back à Dos as a community of student-artists in which there are no “divas.” Instead, everyone pitches in. Every student who performs must also support another production behind-the-scenes. In this way, Back à Dos truly becomes a student-run company, in which students are not just on the stage – but “calling” the show, running sound & lights, preparing props, organizing costumes - and often leading as directors, designers and production managers. 

1983 – Margaret Stookey

1984 – Mika Gustavson

1987 – Karine Collet

1988 – Manoel Felciano

1989 – Sarah Linford

1991 – Lisa Dunmeyer

1992 – Michael Fuller

1993 – Karen Santos da Silva

1994 – Nina Louie

1997 – Tessa Borbridge

1998 – Taway Panyacosit, Nicky Reed

1999 – Julie Rabeaux

2000 – Anna Lisa Vallin

2001 – Wesley Cayabyab, Kelley Skelton

2003 – Chris Simi

2004 – Nick Moy

2005 – Amy Berman, Patrick Fitzgerald

2006 – Isabella Behraven, Gabriella Landau, Jade Fugini-Laws

2007 – Adrienne Uselmann

2008 – Kathleen McGee, Kenny Polyak

2009 – Eli Kahn

2010 – Marie Cartier

2011 – Isaac Traister, Camille Weisgant

2012 – Allison LeCorre

2013 – Doyin Domingo, Alexandra Luce

2014 – Chloe Barrs, Ariel Lowrey, Marc Hills, DeAndre Wright

2015 – Nick Thayer, Cleo Charpentier

2016 – Ian Burke, Cyrus Unvala

2017 – Carly Ryan

2018 – Adam Teich, Nicholas Cialone

2019 – Atiana Skokan, Nathalie Rathle