“We all sell our children for gold — I’m just cutting out the middleman.”
That’s a line from Jefferson High drama teacher Mike Hesford’s latest production. It underscores the depth of themes present throughout the work, recognizing the human weakness betrayed by greed, cutting to the quick of wealth, corruption and power, and shining a spotlight upon the dichotomy of the American dream, split between the material and the immaterial. It forces the audience to consider what they themselves may be sacrificing at the altar of wealth and modern grandeur.
And it comes from the mouth of the wide-smiled antagonist Ben Bandi, a lederhosen-clad mafioso leading his gang of slap-dancing, gold-seeking cronies through the sylvan fantasyland of Hesford’s imagination, a world made complete with gilded fairies, original songs and a moving life lesson or two.
This is “Abundance” — a show made compelling through its embrace of such juxtapositions. The tone runs from poignant to buoyant and back again; the work marries comedy and tragedy, using a fantastical backdrop of folklore and gold dust to explore the very real truths and struggles of the human experience.
“Abundance’s” all-JHS student cast will take the stage at Butte’s Mother Lode Theatre on Nov. 25 for one night only. Following the performance, a taping of the play will be submitted for consideration by the International Thespian Festival; Hesford hopes JHS will be among the handful of schools selected from across the nation to perform on the festival’s Indiana mainstage next summer.
Set amid Montana’s 1890s gold rush, “Abundance” focuses upon an Irish immigrant family navigating a diphtheria outbreak. Sophomore Aubrey Rosenbaum transforms into the young, blind Myra, a girl grasping for meaning and understanding in a world consumed by devastating loss and bottomless greed. “Throughout her journey, we come to realize what the true value of living is and what is worth holding onto,” Hesford explains, nodding to the eponymous title. “Myra is blind, but she is the only one who can truly see. All she really needs is right here in this mining community — this is abundance.”
The initial seed for the production was planted by Hesford’s late father through his habit of leaving voicemails offering ideas for his son’s creative works. This particular proposal came to him after visiting a cemetery in Elkhorn ghost town — just northeast of Boulder, the once-vibrant mining community was decimated through 1888’s harsh winter and diphtheria outbreak. From his father’s voicemail pitching the idea of a mining town story called “Take Out the Gold, Throw in the Babies”, Hesford crafted what would become the show’s first original song, and Abundance was born — debuting initially in 2016 as a one-act play performed by Jefferson High’s drama students.
The common themes and subject matter Hesford chooses to explore throughout his works speak to his own fascinations and interactions with the world. A lifelong lover of stories, the playwright’s style has always hinged upon particular attention paid toward character development and strong dialogue. Hesford credits this to coming of age in pop culture’s golden era: Growing up in Bismarck, North Dakota, “I was the right age for ‘Star Wars,’ ‘ET,’ ‘Goonies,’” Hesford laughs. “I walked into a theater at like five years old to see “Jaws,” and that was it.”
Hesford’s love for theater came during his time as a student at Montana State University. Originally a film major, he tried to find a way out of a required acting class, insisting that he simply needed to learn to direct. That attempt was unsuccessful — but the first time people laughed at something he did on stage, Hesford was hooked. “Immediately I was sold,” he recalled. “I grew up wrestling, and it felt kind of like the cheers from the crowd during that, only better because I wasn’t destroying my body.”
Hesford first joined the JHS faculty as an English teacher nearly 25 years ago. He moved to Boulder with his wife Rochelle, another Bismarck native, shortly after the birth of their oldest son, Isaiah — who, many years later, played Ben Bandi in Abundance’s original cast. (Rochelle Hesford taught at Boulder Elementary School until this year, when she became child care coordinator for the Jefferson Local Development Corporation.)
Hesford joined the JHS drama department in 2009, at the insistence of former theater head Linda Piccolo. “By that time, I had wandered so far from the theater I didn’t think I’d ever return,” Hesford recalled. But by the second year, he was writing original plays, often with historical footholds: “Abominable” chronicles the Children’s Blizzard of 1888, while “Big Sandy” explores the story of the 1970 pilotless landing of an Air Force fighter jet in a Montana wheatfield. “Rivet,” a production giving a peek into the wartime lives of four women working in an American bomber factory, was something of a tribute to his grandmother, a top nurse during World War II.
In 2013, “Mrs. P” retired, and Hesford took on the drama torch. He views his work as a playwright and an educator as inextricable from one another, and credits students past and present as the inspiration behind each and every character he’s developed. Honed by years of crafting thespians from generations of Panthers, Hesford’s energetic intellect and uncanny ability to shift his delivery from warm encourager to heat-seeking missile has made him a figure both beloved and respected.
“You’re my favorite teacher, Mr. Hesford!” a first-year student called over her shoulder after watching a rehearsal. Hesford smiled in return, sipping from a paper cup scrawled with a friendly note by another student working at the Sweet Spot coffee shop.
Fourth-year thespian Jack Johnson, who portrays Lederhosen Gang leader Bandi, believes that working closely with a play’s creator helps him bring the character to life. “I’ve done plays written by Mr. Hesford before,” Johnson explains, referencing his award winning role in 10,000 Hours last year. “The characters are written very thoughtfully, and by knowing the writer, you can really get to their heart and make the vision come to life.”
Merrill Steketee, a 2017 Jefferson High graduate who has recently returned to Boulder, is an “Abundance” veteran. She portrayed Saoirse in the original cast, and now is assisting current students as a vocal coach.
Steketee was also among the students who assisted in turning “Abundance” from a one-act play into a full length show, performing at Helena’s Myrna Loy to a sold out audience and standing ovation. That second iteration was Hesford’s first bid at performing an original show for International Thespian Festival mainstage consideration. While not selected, Jefferson High’s thespians still attended the festival where, according to Hesford, seeing the caliber of the shows selected only served to fuel their ambition. “All different manners and sizes of schools from across the nation are shooting for the same stage here,” Hesford explains. But the idea of going head to head with fine arts academies and larger schools does not intimidate him: “if anything, it just makes us more ambitious.”
Students and graduates say Hesford understands how to meet every kind of aspiring performer where they are. He draws confidence from quiet first-year students as easily as he commands a cast of boisterous varsity athletes. “Getting involved in drama really helped with my confidence,” Rosenbaum shares during rehearsal. “I had to sing last year in a beginning drama play, and I had never sung in front of anyone before. It isn’t something that came naturally to me, but my confidence has grown so much… It’s helped with not only drama, but presenting projects in school, getting up in front of people — it’s really built me up in every aspect.”
“Abundance’s” final coat of polish features new sets, new costumes, and a new song, written in collaboration with JHS music teacher Matt Bowman. The show also carries a big message. “I think there’s two sides to the American dream,” Hesford says. “There’s money and accumulation of things, and then there’s the side that is our loved ones, our family, our passion — and oftentimes, we get caught up in the material side and what truly matters is lost.
“Maybe we aren’t chasing literal nuggets of gold; but are things really all that different?”
“Abundance” premieres Saturday, Nov. 25, 6 p.m. at Butte’s Mother Lode Theatre. Purchase tickets at the Mother Lode box office or the JHS office — $20 general admission, $15 for students, teachers, veterans and seniors.
