Ashleigh Heaton
Editor-in-Chief 

Video by: Chloe Lanier, KCY Broadcast (video coming soon) 

You look up at the stage, enamored by the high school performer singing and dancing to a Broadway 

 tune.  Content, you take a bit of your dinner before getting up and checking to see if you have the winning bid for a signed Troy Aikman jersey. 

Such is how the evening will feel on Monday during the drama department’s first annual silent auction and dinner revue, benefitting the Coppell High School theater department. 

Though the theater department has held a few small fundraisers in the past, including a car wash, a bigger fundraiser was called upon when funds appeared to be too small to support the annual fall musical, this year’s being Into the Woods. 

“We need to raise money this year because of the short fall last year – it didn’t look like we were going to be able to have a musical,” Drama Booster Club President Devonna Hunter said. “Historically, silent auctions have been the best kind of fundraiser for organizations because we get to keep the profit rather than share it. If you can get a team of people to pull together and make it happen, it’s a really good fundraiser for an organization.” 

The evening will begin with the opening of the silent auction, which will run throughout the evening. Tables will close periodically throughout the evening, encouraging participants to bid early and quickly to insure they receive the item they seek. Some stand-out items include a signed jersey by Troy Aikman, a hockey stick signed by the Dallas Stars hockey team, several night-on-the-town and spa packages, as well as tickets to touring shows in the area. 

In addition to the silent auction, participants will be treated to a catered meal from The Grotto, which will include herb crusted chicken, rice, grilled vegetables, drinks and desert. However, the meal isn’t the only thing to entice people to come. 

“What’s unique about our silent auction is that we’re not only having a dinner, we’re also having a theatre revue along with it, which adds a little punch to our event,” Hunter said. “We are excited because we have entertainment to go with the evening from some of the finest talent you will find at the high school level.” 

While eating and bidding, guests will have the opportunity to see several performances and acts from CHS students, including live renditions of Broadway show tunes as well as popular music. The night will culminate in a number performed from the fall musical, Into the Woods, which the event is most directly sponsoring. 

“This is an opportunity for students to perform, and that’s what gets me excited because we just created another opportunity for students to exhibit their talent, to perform and get better,” drama teacher and revue coordinator Bruce Hermans said. “We get to see what’s coming up and let the parents be able to see the kids and for people to think, ‘This is super, wow, I didn’t think we had that kind of talent at Coppell.’ We’re always surprised by the talent we have, and that’s real exciting.” 

One of the major aspects of the musical the silent auction and revue will sponsor is a live orchestra to accompany the cast as they perform. Last year’s production of Anything Goes was the first time in a long time that the CHS musical has accompanied by an orchestra, and the Booster Club felt it was an aspect of the show worth funding. 

“[The orchestra] is an aspect of the music that cannot be duplicated with a silly piano,” Into the Woods musical director Gary Okeson said. “The closer you can get to the original concept of the composer, the better it is, the better it is for kids. “ 

Drama department head and Into the Woods director Lisa Tabor also feels that a live orchestra gives new meaning to a musical – especially when the music is as complex as composer Stephen Sondheim intended it. 

“It really just adds that one extra kick to the musical,” Tabor said. “If you’re into music, to come and see a musical and just have someone on a piano and that’s it, it’s just not the same. To have that full orchestra and that full sound, especially with strings, it just really adds to it – and you just can’t do Sondheim with a piano, because it doesn’t sound right.” 

However, a live orchestra is not the only goal for the evening. The booster club also hopes to raise money that will continue to support future productions throughout the year. 

“[The silent auction] gives an opportunity not only to raise money for the musical but also to raise money for everything else we do throughout the year,” Hermans said. “One of the things we really want to do is raise enough money to have a live orchestra – you can look at it that way, but I prefer to look at it as a whole. I want people in the spring show to know that what they did here helped them in the spring show, because it does, it really does.” 

If the event performs as well as it is expected to, the drama department hopes to continue the tradition in upcoming years and expanding the limits of the program. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” Hermans said. “I think it will become a staple, just like some of the other things we instituted 

last year. We’re just trying to expand what we do to give kids more opportunity to do things within the theatre department.” 

The goal of the evening is to support the future of the theatre program and its students – and the end result is sure to be as theatrical as the program coordinating it. 

“Students still want to participate in theatre,” Hunter said. “To have a place to express your talent and showcase your talent and even compete with your talent in the performing arts is part of an outstanding high school, and our theatre program is one of the best. It’s a great place to offer our students a place to perform and build their talents and become stars.” 

Auction opens at 6 p.m., guests are seated for dinner at 6:30 p.m. Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets sold in advance and at the door for $20.