After taking on a backstage role for the past four years, Locust Valley High School senior Abigail Maselli was selected as one of three stage managers in the inaugural Roger Rees Awards Stage Management Fellowship, where she will help produce the award ceremony’s student showcase.
“The Roger Rees is a really exciting opportunity for me because I’ll be able to see a more professional setting,” Maselli said.
The Roger Rees Awards, formerly known as the Gershwin Awards, recognize outstanding student achievement in Long Island, New York City and Westchester high school musical theatre programs. There are 50 students who will compete in the Roger Rees showcase, two of whom will be selected to compete at the national Jimmy Awards.
“Abigail Maselli’s selection is a testament to her remarkable leadership, organization and passion for the performing arts,” said AnnMarie Buonaspina, the Locust Valley coordinator of fine and applied arts.
“We are so proud of her continued dedication behind the scenes and can’t wait to see the impact she’ll make as part of this prestigious production team,” she said.
Maselli, who is also the Class of 2025’s salutatorian, said she has been involved with theater since she was in elementary school. Up until high school, she said she was mostly focused on acting and performing in shows at school, summer camp and community theater programs.
In middle school, Maselli said she became interested in filmmaking and the behind-the-scenes creative process, but it wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that she joined the stage crew for the Locust Valley production of “Almost, Maine,” where she painted set pieces and props.
After finishing her first production with the stage crew, Maselli said she was asked to fill a position as the head of the run crew, responsible for ensuring that set changes went smoothly. In that role, she worked closely with the stage managers and crew to move set pieces and ensure that everyone was “on the same page.”
“And that was kind of my start in having a leadership position in theater,” Maselli said.
Maselli then moved to assistant stage manager a year later, where she took on more responsibility, before finally stepping into the stage manager role. She completed a four-week summer program with the NYU Tisch School to learn different aspects of project management, including set, sound and lighting design.
Maselli said that one of the things she likes most in her production-focused roles is the capability to problem-solve and be creative simultaneously. She said that while designing set pieces, she gets to explore her artistic abilities while also looking at the practicalities of it.
“How is this gonna move on? How is this gonna move off? What does it have to do? How are we gonna make that work?”
Maselli said this is the first year of the Roger Rees stage management fellowship, and she will be one of three to participate in the inaugural program. She said she has never produced an event as large as the showcase, and will be responsible for setting up during rehearsals, working on the deck during the show and cueing the lights.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to explore that,” she said.
Maselli said her interest in production won’t end at graduation.
Maselli said she will attend Loyola Marymount this fall as a film and television major. Although her main area of study will be film, she said she’s looking to incorporate aspects of theater into her work moving forward. She said she’s also considering minoring in theater tech design and production.
“I’ve really been thinking about how I can take the elements of film that I love and the elements of theater that I love and continue to pursue both in the future,” she said.
At the Locust Valley Film Awards this year, Maselli came out on top with her drama, earning first place in the genre and the Best in Show award with her submission, “Pianissimo.” She said that, looking ahead, she hopes to continue to work on dramas, comedies and documentaries.
The Roger Rees Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, May 19, with Maselli in the wings to assist with production.
