Got your glittery Converse to match your sparkly dress? We’ve got two more chit-chat conversations with cast members from the ‘teens’ of The Prom here for you!

Thank you so very much for coming to chat with us! Tell us who you are and who you play in this!

Shelly Squire: My name is Shelly Squire and I’m in the teen ensemble.

Why I you want to come out and be a part of The Prom?

Shelly: So my sister (Lizzie Sprague) is playing Emma. I’m married, I’m 27, but I’m not playing a grown-up in this. Lizzie came to me about this, told me they were looking for people, but I haven’t been on stage in maybe five or six years. But I love the message. I was the president of the gay-straight alliance at my school in high school. I am a very queer person, even though I’m married to a man. You can be queer and still be married to a man. I just wanted to be a part of it. It’s everything I love about musical theatre and community.

Why is it an important show for Tidewater Players to be doing?

Shelly: The conservative opinions of “you can’t be gay; you can’t go to prom” are so ridiculous and outdated. I think there are a lot of people that just genuinely don’t see it because this is what they’ve been taught their entire life, either in school or in church or by their parents. They don’t realize that this character is just a person, being a person. I love getting to be a part of the message that promotes equality, community, and bringing everyone together.

Absolutely! Now, we’ve established that you are out of high school, but did you go to your high school prom?

Shelly: I did go to my high school prom. I went with my gay best friend who was two years younger than me and asked me to prom on Valentine’s Day with a big card. He was so sweet— his mom took him out and got me flowers from my favorite flower shop, and we had a blast.

Did you wear a dress? What was it like?

Shelly: I did wear a dress. It was a dark purple, halter-top that faded into a hot pink and then back into a dark purple at the bottom. It was gorgeous and I got it for ten dollars!

Did you guys have a prom theme?

Shelly: Kind of. It was supposed to be Alice in Wonderland but it wasn’t really. The Green Knights was my school’s mascot so our after-prom theme was “A Knight in Paris.”

Do you know what your character is wearing to prom in this show?

Shelly: I’m actually taking a dress that I already had— it’s a red, form-fitting silhouette. I wanted to make it funky because I’ve had it for a while, so I’m cropping it at the waist, so it’s this red-crop with a cape on the back and black, wide-legged pants.

Was your high school experience similar or different to the one that you’re having here in the high school of The Prom?

Shelly: A lot of my high school was below the poverty line. We had this IB program, which was basically glorified AP. So half the school was that group and the other half was like “inner city kids” and I was a part of the inner-city crowd. It wasn’t so much discrimination and separation of the LGBT stuff, it was a lot more about classism and class disparity. It was not just feeling separated and ‘othered’ but then having the staff who clearly only wanted to show off all the smart kids in IB. So I definitely had a similar experience of feeling othered in high school but for very different reasons.

I’m so sorry to hear that. If you had to pick a perfect prom theme, what would you pick?

Shelly: I just want to go to Emo night. I want to be surrounded by people dressed in all black, jumping up and down, scream-singing all night.

That is so off-the-wall and yet so wildly beautiful. Emo Night at the prom.

Shelly: With Animal, from The Muppets, as the Prom-Band Drummer.

Okay, now I want a ticket to that prom. Why do you want people to come and see The Prom at Tidewater Players?

Shelly: We’ve worked so hard on it but it’s really just a good story. I cannot think of a show that takes a character and just shows us that this character is just like everyone else and we all just need to get over thinking that they’re not. There’s no show out there that does that better than this show. I also think people will enjoy it because it’s hilarious. There’s a lot of funny involved on top of that message.

If you had to sum up your experience at The Prom here with Tidewater Players with just one word, which word do you use?

Shelly: Welcoming.

Always excellent to hear that word! Thank you so much! Who else do I get for this round? Shea? How about Shea! Thank you for sitting with us, Shea!

Shae Betances: I’m Shae Betances and I’m in the ensemble for the teens.

Why did you want to be a part of The Prom?

Shae: I really love dancing. I missed the auditions so I didn’t get to dance in person but I absolutely love dancing and I really wanted to be a part of a dancing-ensemble. I just finished A Bronx Tale at Dundalk Community Theatre, and I loved being a part of that show but I wanted to dance more. I love big ensembles that have these big dance numbers because that’s what I love to do.

Why is The Prom an important show for people to be doing and for audiences to be seeing right now?

Shae: I think it’s important because its more modern and having two girls as your leading, romantic characters is not the norm. I like that we have a show that breaks that ice. I would like it where you have two girls in romantic leads together but not make that the theme or focus of the show. I want that to be normalized. I was actually a part of a production of Little Shop of Horrors with Small Town Stars Theatre Company, and we did a lot of gender swapping in that show. I was Mushnik. We had a playing Seymour as well. It was such a great experience and it made me realize how much I love playing male roles in shows and they just don’t allow that to happen. I’ve always been asked what my dream role is and I’m a very low singer. So it’s hard for me to say “I want to play this female lead” because I know I can’t sing their range. But there are so many leading male characters out there who I could play androgynously. When I played Mushnik, they didn’t try to make me play him as a man, they just let me play him as myself and that’s what I loved about it. There’s nothing particularly male about that character. I love when we can do that and push those boundaries. And you get that with The Prom, it’s just one more step to normalizing all orientations and gender-identities.

Do you have a preferred set of pronouns that you use, Shae?

Shae: Any pronouns are fine as long as they are respectful. I know I present female but I very much don’t mind being referred to in other ways as long as it’s respectful. I just like keeping it moving forward where people don’t have to assign me pronouns unless it’s helping them to feel comfortable.

That’s really insightful, thank you for sharing. Now you’re out of high school, in college I think you said, did you go to your prom in high school?

Shae: Yeah I did. It was hard because I missed a lot of school. The principal didn’t want me to go to the prom because I was missing a lot of school so I had to put a lot of effort just to be able to actually go. I didn’t have that many friends because I missed so much school. But it was really fun to go get the dress and everything.

What was your dress like?

Shae: It was beaded all at the top and very light at the bottom. It wasn’t one of those heavy prom dresses that will weigh you down all night or that you have to haul around. So it was very nice to be able to move and breathe. The beads were all different colors at the top, almost like floral, and then it was black sheer at the bottom.

That dress sounds stunning. Have you been given your dress for your teen ensemble character to wear to the prom?

Shae: Yeah, I’m wearing a dress I wore for homecoming. It’s one of my favorite dresses ever. It has roses all over it and I love it.

If you had to pick the perfect prom theme, what would it be?

Shae: I love the aquarium. I just love sea and ocean and nautical stuff. So underwater theme.

Was your high school similar to or different from the high school experience that they’re having here at The Prom?

Shae: It was different. I didn’t really get a “high school experience” because of missing all the school. To be honest, I graduated with just 28 days of attendance, it was so bad. I really wasn’t there. I had a relationship with the teachers— good and bad— more so than any of the students because I just wasn’t there. But that’s life and college is so much better for me. It doesn’t have that social viciousness that comes with high school and I get to set my own hours, which is what I needed to succeed.

Why do you want people to come out and see The Prom?

Shae: I really like the music in this show. I love the dancing. It’s an uplifting show and I think people will feel better after coming to see it. It shows how people can be so silly and not accepting gay people for who they are. It showcases the restrictions that people put on ‘othered’ individuals. She just wants to go to prom. Let her go to prom!

If you had to sum up your experience with The Prom here at Tidewater Players in just one word, which word would you use?

Shae: Energetic!

The Prom plays through March 6 2023 with Tidewater Players, in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.

To check out The Prom with Abigail and Aaron, click here!

To check out The Prom with Maggie and Zach, click here!

To check out The Prom with Tristin and Brigid, click here!

To check out The Prom with Kaitlyn and Anna, click here!