A Production to
Remember
CVHS’s production of ‘Les Miserables’ brings home a win
at the Gene Kelly Awards.
A
ny good coach or teacher can tell you that one
of the keys to success is preparation, and for
Chartiers Valley High School’s dance, health
and physical education teacher Kim Giffin, preparation
has paid off tenfold. The school’s 2016 production of
“Les Miserables,” for which Giffin produced, directed
and choreographed, not only had the most attendance
of any production in the last eight years, but was
nominated by Pittsburgh’s Civic Light Opera (CLO) for
10 Gene Kelly Awards.
“It has been a wonderful, exciting year for us,” says
Giffin. “To know where we were before the school year
even began, and to see what we pulled off in such a short
amount of time has made all of our efforts worthwhile.”
Giffin began researching musical choices in the
summer before the school year began.
“I wanted to have several options to choose from and
then match the production with what the kids could do,”
she says. “Once auditions began in October, it helped
narrow down the choices.”
About 50 students auditioned for the spring musical,
with a standout audition coming from CVHS junior
Devin Moore.
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Kim Giffin, producer, director and
choreographer
CVHS junior Devin Moore
“Devin’s audition helped us feel confident choosing
‘Les Miserables.’ He is quite an accomplished singer and
musician, and he had the determination and work ethic
to tackle the lead role of Jean Valjean,“ said Giffin.
She also worked in concert with her husband, Dustin
Giffin, who is the technical director of the high school
musicals, and many students and parents, who put in
long hours on set design and costumes to make the
production a standout.
“It is clearly a group project. We have 15 student crew
members and a lot of volunteers who help build our sets
and make costumes—I could not do any of this alone,”
Giffin notes.
From October to March, she, along with the cast
and crew, practiced and rehearsed for the show. Finally,
on March 2, they had their debut, plus four additional
performances that week.
“It was amazing, and I could not have been more
proud,” says Giffin. “This production is one that is near
and dear to my heart, and everyone has worked so hard
for it.”