Adam Schoenbart: the Man Behind the Drama Club’s Spring Production

Evan Seligman, Staff Writer

Adam Schoenbart is a man of many reputations. Some know him as a teacher, others as a comic book geek or as mentor and leader of his loyal drama crew. He is an English teacher by day, a stage designer and director by mid-day, and a Star Wars fanatic by night.

As a teacher, his lessons are thoughtful, interesting, and unique. Even when he’s not teaching his self-designed Myth, Magic, and Make-Believe class– in which he teaches his students about different mythologies, archetypes, and classic story elements– he still manages to channel some of his inherent geeky-ness into his 10th Grade English class work. This might mean showing the film X-Men: First Class to draw the parallels of the outcasted mutant superheroes in the film to the civil rights issues and themes present in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. He is the only teacher in Ossining High School to assign comic books to his students (namely, Art Spiegelman’s Maus II) for required reading. He works hard to keep his students engaged, and goes out of his way to ensure that everybody gets the help and attention that they require in order to succeed.

After school, Mr. Schoenbart is one of the two leaders of the Drama Club assuming control over all things technical, in addition to his promotional efforts. Though some might not even be aware of the extent of his contributions, past productions such as Les Miserables, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Rent: School Edition would not have been possible without his hard work and dedication. He is the backbone of the Drama Club, organizing everything from set design to program advertisements. When there is a job that needs to get done, he does everything in his power to ensure that it happens. Most recently, he sacrificed a great deal of his time working on the set for Legally Blonde: The Musical, while still teaching multiple classes of English every school day.

Aside from all of these things, Mr. Schoenbart still somehow finds the time to pursue his interests. He loves superheroes, Taylor Swift, comic books, movies, TV shows, and all types of literature. Some might call him a “huge nerd,” and others might refer to him as a “giant mega-geek.” Regardless, he is extremely open about his passions, and utilizes them to help his students learn, and his Drama Club kids to excel in every production they’re a part of.

The Drama Club’s Spring Production of Legally Blonde will be showing April 3rd to the 5th at 7 PM, in the brand new OHS auditorium. The play will seat with free admission, and will be a really fun show.