THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, FEbrUAry 28, 2025 Page 3 ~The Advocate Asks~ Saugus High Theatre Teacher Nick Raponi talks about hosting Saturday’s state High School Drama Festival test Editor’s Note: For this week’s column, we sat down with Nicholas “Nick” Raponi, Saugus High School’s Theatre Teacher and Drama Club Director, and talked about the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s High School Drama Festival, which Saugus High will be hosting for the first time tomorrow (Saturday, March 1) in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium. Raponi, 42, was born in Peabody and grew up in that city, graduating from Peabody High School in 2001. After graduation, he pursued a career in the restaurant business, but decided to change careers and return to school to become a theatre teacher. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance with a minor in Secondary Education from Salem State University in 2015. In 2020, he received a Master’s in Theatre from Regent University. He’s been teaching for about 10 years. He worked for several years at Winthrop High School and worked closely with the High School Drama Society and was part of the team that won the state championship for two years in a row. He also worked in Haverhill and Revere before landing his “dream job” at Saugus High School. Raponi and his wife Amanda have been married for seven years and they bought their Saugus home in 2017. They have two young boys: Nicky, 4, and Remy, 1. Highlights of this week’s interview follow. Q: Feel free to share your background in theatre, whether this was something that you did as a kid, going through high school and college. A: I have always been interested in the theatre. At 11, I auditioned for my first show at the Higgins Middle School in Peabody and got cast, which genuinely changed my life. I gained my love for singing, performing and entertaining in middle school under the direction of my very first theatre mentor, the late Ellen (Carlin) Endslow. At Peabody High School, I was a member of the Stage One Drama Club, the Salem State University · American College Theatre Festival Scenic Design Finalist: “Machinal” Salem State University I am an avid theatre performer with more than 70 performance credits. I am also a freelance theatre artist as a stage director, scenic designer, technical director and lighting designer, having worked for ASKS | SEE PAGE 18 425r Broadway, Saugus Located adjacent to Kohls Plaza Route 1 South in Saugus at the intersection of Walnut Street We are on MBTA Bus Route 429 781-231-1111 IT’S A BIG DEAL: Saugus High School’s Theatre Teacher and Drama Club Director Nicholas “Nick” Raponi said hosting a preliminary round of the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival on Saturday in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium will be “a highlight of my career as a theatre teacher.” (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Chorus, the Chorale and the Show Choir and a three-season athlete. After high school, I found community theatre, and my life improved. Not only did I develop a more profound love for theatre arts, but I also met some of the most talented people in this industry, who taught me many of the skills I use daily as a theatre teacher. I met my best friends and my wife doing community theatre. I have worked with The Winthrop Playmakers (Board of Directors, president & artistic director) and the Theatre Company of Saugus as a performer, scenic designer and lighting designer and many other surrounding theatres: Marblehead Little Theatre, Wakefield Repertory Theatre, Burlington Players and many more. In addition to performing in Massachusetts, I have been an adjudicator for the EMACT (Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatre) Dash Program, having also received Awards and nominations through EMACT. · Best Actor in a Musical: “Seussical The Musical” – Neverland Theatre · Best Set Design of a play: “The Shadow Box” – Winthrop Playmakers · Best Director of a Play (Winner): “The Shadow Box” – Winthrop Playmakers · Best Supporting Actor in a Musical & Best Set Design of a Musical: “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” – Theatre Company of Saugus · Best Set Design of a Musical: “Nevermore” – Theatre Company of Saugus · Best Lead Performer in a Musical: “Something Rotten” – Marblehead Little Theatre · Irene Ryan Scholarship Nominee: “The Shadow Box” – We are a Skating Rink with Bowling Alleys, Arcade and two TV’s where the ball games are always on! 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