By Will Bernish ’13, Contributor
The CCDS performance of the musical Working was to premiere in three weeks. Sadly, Tom McLaughlin, the Country Day theater director at the time, had to leave town to attend his father’s funeral. He had not even started blocking Act II. Who should step in to direct it but Mrs. Sandy Cantor? Mrs. Cantor, mother of Carly ’08 and Jules ’11 (pictured), took over the entire production and worked so hard that when “[Mr. McLaughlin] got back to school on opening night . . . the show was ready for him.”
Mrs. Cantor and theater go quite a while back, to 1994 in fact. While producing community theater shows, she helped start the theater program at Yavneh Day School (YDS), a private Jewish school in Cincinnati (now Rockwern Academy).
A friend to Mr. McLaughlin, Mrs. Cantor started out lending props for his shows, then moved on to stage managing and tech.
During her time with Cincinnati Music Theatre (CMT), Sandy Cantor produced her personal favorite show, Rag Time, the cast of which included not only her daughter Carly, as an immigrant, but Mark Femia, the current director of drama at CCDS. After becoming friends, Mrs. Cantor eventually referred Mr. Femia to YDS, where he became their choral director. “And when Mr. McLaughlin left Country Day, I referred [Femia] to Dr. Macrae,” said Cantor. The rest, as they say, is history.
Extending further than referrals, Mrs. Cantor’s generosity includes her willingness to work voluntarily for the school. She was actually once a paid stage manager, but it “just didn’t feel right.” she said. “So it’s been volunteer ever since.” But what has made her come back to help CCDS every year since 2004? Mrs. Cantor absolutely adores all students at Country Day. “Every year I say ‘This is my last year,’” she explained. “And every year a new crop of freshmen come up and I get attached to them.” She also loves the theater environment itself. “In theater, there’s a place for everybody . . . to fit in,” said Cantor. “And it is, for the most part, a very accepting atmosphere. . . I love being a part of that.”
When asked about her feelings on the ‘no-cut’ policy CCD imposes, Mrs. Cantor replied that she thinks that “there are pros and cons to it.” She explained that “The all-inclusive environment is wonderful,” but that “if we did cuts, we might put on a better, more polished finished product.” She also argued that people, like me, would never get the chance to learn to be a good actor without the no-cut policy. “The artistic side of me says we should cut,” said Cantor. “The mom side of me says we shouldn’t.”
As if she was the “cast therapist,” Mrs. Cantor also deals with the drama within the cast members, most notably arguments about cast placement. “There’s always going to be drama,” she pointed out, “because anyone who’s interested in theater has a dramatic side to them, and they’re passionate.” When approached by students with these problems, she will often tell them that everyone’s part is of equal importance. She likens the cast of a play to a baseball or football team, also stressing the importance of the ensemble of the cast. “There are people who have more lines, and more songs,” added Mrs. Cantor, “but there’s nobody who’s really a star, because unless you have the people behind you backing you up, you can’t have a good show.” She said she is “very passionate about every kid feeling really good about themselves.”
Before the showing of the recent CCDS production of Seussical, Mrs. Cantor said Mr. Femia’s and Mr. Greg Lindahl’s vision of the musical was “perfect.” “I think it’s going to be . . . a little over the top, which will be really fun,” she remarked. And as for the fourth-grade cast members (playing the “Who’s”), Mrs. Cantor said they’ll “bring in an audience like no other,” but that the Upper-School cast members are “going to have to be a lot more cautious . . . about what we discuss in front of them, because we’re setting an example for them.” Thrilled that the fourth-graders are getting a chance to participate in CCD drama so young, Mrs. Cantor will did her best to make Seussical a positive experience. Her advance praise turned out to be warranted. Seussical had crowds on their feet in childish glee.
Mr. Femia said that Mrs. Cantor is the essential “fixture of productions,” and that the kids have come “to know and love her.” Mrs. Cantor “provides a fresh viewpoint,” said Femia, which really assists him in producing these plays and musicals. “She’s very concerned about everyone,” said Junior Josh Motley, who will play Horton the Elephant in Seussical. Jules Cantor, playing Horton as well, also agrees with her being the “backbone of the theater program.” However, he does believe she runs a “thankless” job in the background.
Photo courtesy of Yichen Dong ’11