By Leah Kuntz, Feature Editor — Tony-award winner John Moauro spent fifth period on Oct. 24 with the drama students, working mainly with seniors on dramatic monologues. Students volunteered to perform their short snippets of plays, then he critiqued them on components such as their diction and movement. Other students from the entirety of the drama program were invited to watch.

“It was great to have someone other than our usual teacher give us insight into what we’re doing. It’s neat to have an outside perspective on our works,” senior Dylan Phillips said.

Phillips worked with Moauro on his monologue from Frankenstein.

Moauro won his Tony for the work he did in the revival of the renowned musical Hair. He began performing Hair on Broadway, then spent six months in London performing the show, was part of the national tour, and then assistant directed the non-equity tour of Hair. Since he has experience with working on stage and with the audition process, he spoke with students aspiring to go into a similar career.

“Being on Broadway is like being in any show anywhere,” Moauro said.

Originally from the Canton area, Moauro came at the prompting of drama teacher Brittany Eckstrom. Both Moauro and Eckstrom are Kent graduates from the musical theater program. The two messaged for a while before setting a date for Moauro to come.

“John has experience working professionally. For me, I think having the opportunity to meet and work with someone like him is not an opportunity many people will get to have,” Eckstrom said.

Usually working with college students, coming to a high school was a new experience for Moauro.

“It’s cool for me to come back to the Canton area and see kids who are just like me when I was in high school, who are finding themselves,” Moauro said. “Listening to an experienced performer would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.”

[Updated Aug. 8, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]