Director Valle Comes Back To WATERFORDrama

WATERFORDrama’s Shane Valle is back.

Valle, the heralded director of Waterford High School’s drama program WATERFORDrama, originally planned to take a yearlong leave of absence this year. But Wednesday evening, Valle e-mailed Patch and said he decided to come back to again lead WATERFORDrama, effective immediately.

“I am happy to be getting back to work with these incredible kids.  I knew I was going to miss them this year,” Valle said in an e-mail to Patch. “I just didn't know how much I was going to miss them after only two months!”

Two Shows This Year

WATERFORDrama has done as many as five shows in a year before. However, the high school auditorium is under construction and won’t be open until Thanksgiving, so this year the group will put on two shows, Valle said.

The first will be a play that will run in mid-January and the second a musical in the beginning of May, according to Valle. Valle said he is planning to announce the two shows at a workshop on October 16.

Also, a group of WATERFORDrama seniors are currently working on their own show to run this fall, Valle said.  

So why did Valle come back?

“There are a lot of reasons,” Valle said in an e-mail to Patch. “(Waterford High School Principal) Don Macrino's desire to have me back is certainly one of them. He really had an idea about what is best for the kids and I guess that was me." 

"The fact that I am feeling much healthier than I was last year is another major reason," Valle continued. "And quite honestly, the talent pool that we had to choose from (based on the applicants) wasn't up to par in my mind (or I believe Mr. Macrino's).  Too many people have worked too hard over the past eight years to hand the program over to someone who may not have been qualified enough to ‘steer this ship’.”