Sorkin Captivates Sellout Crowd at SHS

Academy Award Winner and SHS Class of 1979 graduate Aaron Sorkin returned to Scarsdale High School Thursday evening May 26 to a capacity crowd in the SHS auditorium.  SHS Drama Club President, Justine Gelfman, welcomed the crowd and noted that “an evening like this one is a team effort” and then proceeded to thank the drama club officers and faculty who worked tirelessly to organize the event. On behalf of the Drama Club, Gelfman extended a special welcome to Aaron’s parents who were in the audience and thanked Mrs. Sorkin for her efforts in making the evening a reality.  After a brief recitation of Sorkin’s biography, the audience viewed clips from the Social Network, Studio 60 on the Sunset Street, the West Wing and a Few Good Men.  The Scarsdale natives in the crowd reacted with warm applause at the mention in the West Wing clip of the name Werner Feig who was a long time SHS social studies teacher. Sorkin posthumously honored him with a mention of his name in the third season of his Emmy winning show.

After the clips ended Sorkin walked onto the stage to thunderous applause.  Sorkin and Gelfman then sat in two chairs borrowed from Principal Klemme’s office for the occasion. Gelfman invited audience members to line up at two standing microphones for the question and answer portion of the evening.  Gelfman opened the question session by asking Sorkin for his “fondest memories” of the Drama Club and how it impacted him.  Sorkin first responded by noting how much he appreciated being invited back to SHS.  Sorkin said that next to his parents, the Drama Club had a very important impact on him as he made good friends and found what he loved doing at a young age.  Sorkin noted that his parents and teachers probably preferred that he spend more time on his schoolwork than Drama Club activities but then wryly noted, “I landed on my feet so it was ok.”

During the next hour, Sorkin answered a variety of questions from the audience.  Like so many of his fictional characters, Sorkin was warm, engaging, funny and passionate.  He was also very humble and self deprecating.  At one point, Sorkin said that he was not the smartest in his family or among his childhood friends, but their influence instilled in him a love of “smart dialogue."  Several of the questions solicited career advice from those looking to break into playwriting.  Sorkin told the aspiring playwrights in the audience to write all the time, read all the time, to consider applying for jobs in Hollywood, to use networking opportunities and most of all to take chances early in their careers.  He implored the students in the audience to applaud classmates who try and fail rather than make fun of their efforts. Other questions delved into Sorkin’s biography.  While discussing his switch from acting to play writing, Sorkin regaled the crowd with a story of his watching Nathan Lane perform in a one act play that Sorkin had both written and acted in with a young Nathan Lane.  Of Nathan Lane, Sorkin said he thought, “Boy, he is really good. Wouldn’t it be good if all the actors in my play were that good?”  Sorkin shared with the audience that the moment made him realize that he was not an actor anymore but a playwright.  Sorkin also discussed his philosophy concerning writing, noting that Aristotle’s Poetics contain all the required elements of playwriting and that intention and conflict are of particular importance.

Sorkin captivated the crowd and literally left them wanting more.  A last minute change to Sorkin’s schedule required that the Drama Club shorten the event.  Before Sorkin departed, Gelfman presented him with a framed collage of pictures, playbills and posters from SHS Drama Club shows that Sorkin appeared in while at SHS.  After Sorkin departed the stage, Drama Club Vice President Will Heffner organized the raffle drawing for a signed script of the Social Network.  SHS Art Teacher, Elizabeth Colleary, was the winner of the script.

It was a magical evening showcasing a generous graduate of Scarsdale High School who came home for an evening to assist the Drama Club that he adored as a young man.

A special thank you to the Drama Club Faculty advisor Adrienne Meyer, Dave Berry of the Scarsdale High School Audiovisual Department who organized the technical logistics of the evening, NYU film student Sam Butin who compiled the clips the audience saw and the SHS custodial staff.