Student actors Frank in upcoming production St. Joseph's H.S. to put on stage production of 'Diary of Anne Frank' BY JAY BODAS Correspondent JAY BODAS Students at St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen rehearse for their production of "The Diary of Anne Frank." METUCHEN - St. Joseph High School Theatre Company will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "The Diary of Anne Frank," on Nov. 8, 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and on Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. It is being performed by about a dozen students from local schools who have been preparing for the past two months. The play is the story of a 13-year-old Jewish girl who goes into hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. "With a lot that is going on in the world today, with man's inhumanity to man, the play teaches us that we can transcend all that and still look for the good in people," said Brother Ron Travers, who serves as assistant director. "Being that this is a Catholic high school, we look to safeguard the concept of respect for life and dignity in human beings." In 12 years' worth of productions at St. Joseph, this is the first time "Anne Frank" has ever been performed there. Play practices are a serious endeavor, with cast members currently rehearsing every day after school and on weekends. "The three weeks before the show, you don't get any days off," said senior Alex Moskow, who plays Anne Frank's love interest, Peter Van Daan. "I usually do homework right after school from 2 to 4 p.m., and then sometimes after practice when I return home late at night if I still need to. It can get crazy, but you just buckle down and do it." A veteran of five previous plays at St. Joseph, Moskow intends to pursue a career in acting. "I enjoy acting because it is a release from everyday life," he said. "For the two hours on stage, you can be someone else and forget about what's bothering you, and you bring joy to the people watching." "It is a great way to release energy," agreed senior and fellow cast member Hilliard Branch. "If you've had a bad day, you can release it on stage, and it allows you to explore other personalities. For example, I play Mr. Van Daan, a pompous, egotistical guy, which is the opposite of my personality." Given St. Joseph's all-male student body, the five girls in the play hail from other area schools. Fifteen-year-old Maura Grogan, a sophomore at Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark, said that acting has helped her to "open up" and to "be more outgoing." "I have been acting since grammar school, doing one play every year and sometimes also in the summer," Grogan said. "Before I started acting, I used to be really shy when I was younger. I do it mostly because I make really good and long-lasting friends." Grogan said that the cast believes they can help "change people in a good way" through theater. "We really feel like we are bringing it to them, this whole story," she said. "For example, there's one sentence in particular that Anne Frank has, where at the end she says, 'I still believe in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart.' She believes that human nature is really good and that it is something else that makes people do something bad." Anne Curto, who has had a successful career in theater and the arts, directs the play, with St. Joseph faculty member Craig Martin serving as an adviser to the production. Curto believes that the chance to experience live theater is particularly important in today's world. "We are in a time right now where we have the Internet and 80 billion channels on TV, where we have the opportunity to do everything but see a live performance, and there is nothing quite like that," she said. "And for students to not have this opportunity, it can be very isolating. People should come out to see the extraordinary art in our community and to support the work our students do." But in the end, the show's actors do it for the simple joy of performing. "Despite the long hours and especially towards the end when we are working all the time, you might start to lose heart, but once it is all over, you can't wait for the next season to begin," Moskow said. "It is a lot of work, and it sounds like a cliché, but there is nothing like taking your bow and getting applause from the audience. Really there's nothing that can beat it." For ticket information, call (732) 549- 7600, ext. 721.