The wait is over for performers getting ready to go onstage at Cuyahoga Heights High School (CHHS). Instead of having to tarry in the hallways while awaiting their cue, the performers can now rest comfortably in a newly created Green Room. A Green Room is traditionally a waiting room for performers and a place to apply makeup and change costumes. The room was officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 21.
The newly created Green Room was the work of Cuyahoga Heights Senior Samantha Caleris who undertook the endeavor for her Gold Award project. The Gold Award is the highest award possible in Girl Scouting. The award requires candidates to demonstrate their vision for change by completing a service project that benefits the community. Candidates must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours of work to planning and completing the project.
“For decades, the drama kids had to change and do their makeup in the bathrooms and wait in the hallway when they weren't onstage,” explained Caleris about her decision to make the Green Room her project. As a performer in several productions over the past six years, Caleris could not stress enough the importance of a Green Room during productions. “Waiting in the hallway led to a tendency for the performers to talk. Their voices would carry into the auditorium and distract those on stage and in the audience,” she explained.
Caleris said the project took two years from concept to completion. She initiated the help and support of both the former high school principal and current principal Michael Janatovich as well as play director David Michaels. Funds for the project were provided by Cuyahoga Heights High School.
The work included cleaning out the bedroom-size storage room, painting the room a traditional calming green color, and adding comfortable furniture, including chairs, rugs, and an end table. Caleris’s project also included initiating a clothing drive to obtain additional costumes for the drama department.
The project was not without its stumbling blocks. “I was delayed because I didn't have access to the building due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the 17-year-old member of Girl Scout Troop 70825 from North Olmsted. This year’s Gold Award candidates had to submit their completed projects by February 1. Caleris anticipates that she will receive her actual award at a ceremony honoring Northeast Ohio Gold Award recipients in June.