Ridgefield High School Play Raises Funds for a Beloved Teacher's Local Charity

Ridgefield Theater Boosters posted a photo on Instagram of students presenting local charity Ann’s Place with a check in honor of long-time RHS director and teacher Joyce Flanagan, who is battling breast cancer.

RHS senior and Theater Booster social media manager Shelby Lewis reports that they raised the donation from concessions and some ticket sales from one of the performances of The Play That Goes Wrong. “It was a ‘play for pink’ show,” Shelby writes, “similar to how many of the sports teams will sponsor one of their games for Ann's Place or another organization.”

Joyce Flanagan is a former RHS choir teacher and director of the RHS theater department for many years before she retired and Sherry Cox came to RHS. When Mrs. Cox had to step back from directing the musical last year, Mrs. Flanagan (called Flan by the students) came out of her retirement to direct the show Into The Woods. After Mrs. Cox announced her retirement at the end of last year, Flan planned to come back to direct the musical but ended up being unable to return due to her breast cancer diagnosis.

The 2024 spring musical, Little Women (opening in March), was chosen by Flan before she knew that she would not be able to direct the show. Because of this and Flan's long and lasting dedication to the RHS visual and performing arts, the senior class and the RHS Theater Boosters Board wanted to dedicate a donation in her honor. Flan chose Ann's Place for the donation because of the work they do for those going through cancer treatment and their families.

“In my four years in the theater program,” writes student Frankie Belden, “we have never done anything like this, and I think it was really meaningful to collect money that not only supports the arts but is also going toward a great cause. Flan is such a wonderful director and person and we miss her a lot, and through this donation, we had something tangible to show that we think of her at every rehearsal and performance. Our program is very grateful for everything she did for us last year and we are confident that she will beat cancer again and continue to be involved with RHS theater in the future.”

Belden continues, “I am also thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to tour Ann's Place, which I had never been inside before. It's so wonderful that we have this incredible resource in our community to help people who are battling cancer. It is a safe space filled with amazing people and events and opportunities, and I know our donation will be put to good use.”

Shelby echoes Frankie’s thoughts about their visit to Ann’s Place. “The experience of visiting the facility and learning about their mission was very meaningful to me personally,” Shelby writes, “since my family has a lot of history with Ann's Place and the work they do is just so great and especially powerful to see first hand knowing that our donation will help them continue this work. It is so wonderful for all of us to know that by participating in the show, something we love doing, we also get the opportunity to help continue the amazing work that Ann's Place does and honor our former director.”

 Purchase tickets to see Little Women => https://www.rhsperformingarts.info/