Montini Catholic sophomore Bryanna Bell has been named Bronco Artist of the Month for March. Bryanna was nominated for the honor by Montini Theatre Director, Ms. Jackie Martin (above with Bryanna), for her dedication, drive and talent as stage manager for Montini's two theatrical productions this school year. "Bryanna has a true passion for theatre, and it is clear that she has quickly become a leader in the performing arts here at Montini!"

"I am genuinely surprised and excited," said Bryanna upon hearing the news. "It makes me really happy that I made enough of an impact to get this award."

Bryanna was chosen by Ms. Martin to be the stage manager for both the fall musical, Newsies, and this spring's play, Clue. "Her responsibilities included attending every rehearsal, leading the crew in painting and construction, and overseeing everything that happens backstage during the performances." According to play sources, Bryanna ran a tight ship and led by example. "Her leadership abilities will surely take her far in high school theatre and beyond."

"I’ve always wanted to be an actress, if you ask anyone in my family they would tell you that," explained Bryanna. "So, when I was presented with the opportunity to act in a show at my junior high (Jefferson Junior High School, Woodridge) as a 6th grader, I took it!" It was during Bryanna's 7th grade year that Covid restrictions were put into place causing her and her peers no choice but to abandon the stage for two years. "I didn’t really get the opportunity to be a part of a show again until my freshman year and at that time my interests had shifted. I didn’t want to act anymore. However, I still loved theater, so I signed up to run crew!" Bryanna got her feet wet running crew as a freshman for Montini's production of  Video Gamapalooza. She liked it so much, she decided to 'move up the theatrical ladder' and utilize her skills as stage manager during her sophomore year.

"Bryanna was one of the first students I met during this first year (at Montini) as the Theatre Director," said Ms. Martin. "She eagerly showed me all of the theatre spaces and introduced me to the many talented Montini theatre students! She really made me feel at home."

"My favorite thing about being a stage manager is the fact that I get to spend so much time with everyone in the show," says Bryanna, who truly favors the 'behind the scenes' scene. "Being an actor, you might just spend time with the cast and crew members mostly spend time with crew. Being the stage manager allows me to work with and be there for everyone." She admits that the position can be quite stressful as well. "There is so much time put into a show, some days I would be at school from 7:30AM-7:30PM. When you’re in pre-tech and tech week you get no real free time - but it’s worth it in the end!"

"I am so happy to be able to have had so many great times with these amazing people (in theatre), it's hard to choose one favorite moment, but if I had to narrow it down, It would be this past show’s strike (set deconstruction). Taking the set down is sad but it’s kind of like a last hurrah to all our hard work. This time especially, because it was so quick and it was very fun to see the actors do 'crew stuff'!"

Bryanna has found her theatrical involvement here at Montini, especially this year, to be very rewarding. She credits Ms. Martin and Musical Director, Mr. Donnie Glowinski for making it such a positive experience. "It has been very refreshing to work with Ms. Martin this year. She is so genuinely kind and passionate about theatre. I cannot thank her enough. I’ve known Mr. Glow since last year when he was my Music Appreciation teacher. He’s probably my favorite teacher at this school, he really cares deeply for music and all his students."

Although she's still an underclassman with two years to go as a Bronco, Bryanna knows it's never too early to think about her future and college plans. "I plan to either minor in Theatre Crew or double major it with Psychology. I’m not entirely sure, but I know I want to continue to do theatre in college. I’m also not sure what I would do after college with my experience but I’m excited to go on that journey with myself. I would like to be a psychologist for kids or maybe a social worker. I think that being a stage manager has really helped me get to know a lot of people. I get to experience so many different personalities, family situations and personal stories. Not only am I making friends and lifelong connections through our hard work together, I’m learning so much about people which is very helpful when trying to communicate and help people, because everyone is different."

Upon nominating Bryanna for the Student of the Month honor, Ms. Martin has shown her respect for Bryanna and the work she has done to ensure two successful theatrical productions this year. "I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Bryanna, and I look forward to the many future productions with her as stage manager.  Congratulations, Bryanna, you are so deserving of this honor!"