When Angela Smithhisler read a TribLive story about Valley High School’s drama club likely getting scammed out of $8,000 for costumes, her heart sank.
“I started to feel sick to my stomach because that (dollar amount) seemed very familiar,” she said via email. “I opened up the article and read it, and my stomach dropped when I read ‘The Staging Workshop.’ That is the group we were working through to rent ‘Shrek’ costumes.”
Smithhisler, the drama director at Linganore High School in Frederick, Md., said the school also paid thousands of dollars to The Staging Workshop, a company purported to be based in Austin, Texas, for costumes and props.
But, like Valley High, Linganore received nothing for its money.
Smithhisler was with her students at Disney World in Florida when she saw a TribLive story about Valley losing $8,000 on costumes that never arrived.
“Then, after I read the article on your site last Friday, I sent a few emails and even had my financial secretary call to follow up. No response. And none since then,” Smithhisler said of her attempts to reach The Staging Workshop.
TribLive’s efforts to reach a representative of The Staging Workshop for comment have been unsuccessful. A website for the business no longer functions, and an email to an address provided on its Facebook page was returned as undeliverable. There was no response to a message sent through Facebook, and phone calls were not returned.
Valley High had expected its costumes to arrive April 1. Valley Drama Club sponsor Brian Krugle said someone claiming to be a representative of The Staging Workshop contacted them Friday, asking for an additional $2,500 for shipping. The person claimed the company was bankrupt and unable to arrange for shipping as agreed upon without payment first.
Valley did not pay the company additional money. The club has filed a police report and complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office, Krugle said.
Messages requesting comment from the Attorney General’s Office were not returned Tuesday.
A representative of the Better Business Bureau’s Pittsburgh office said Tuesday they have no information on The Staging Workshop but was checking with the bureau’s Texas region to see whether complaints about the company have been reported there. That information was not available Tuesday.
Linganore’s legal department is following up on their situation, Smithhisler said.
Linganore initially paid The Staging Workshop $8,500 but was unable to avoid making an additional payment, Smithhisler said. The Staging Workshop used a Linganore credit card it had on file to charge an additional $900 for shipping costs for a large puppet and insurance, she said.
For Valley, it was the first time they tried renting costumes for a musical. Smithhisler said this was her first time dealing with The Staging Workshop, which she made contact with through a Facebook group for musical directors.
“They had posted costume pictures and initial information about their company. They then emailed me soon after with more information, including a detailed costume plot and rental agreement,” she said.
Smithhisler said she didn’t have any concerns early on. The pictures were professional, reviews were positive, the costume plot was clear and detailed, and communication was timely, she said.
“I only started to feel uneasy at the beginning of last week when I hadn’t received a shipping confirmation or tracking numbers about costumes that should have been arriving this week,” she said. “That’s why I knew that what happened to Valley must have also happened to me.”
Led by Gina Bordinaro, last year’s costume chairwoman for Valley, the club has been able to clothe its cast through a combined effort from Hempfield and Plum high schools, Valley parents and several former costumers.
Nearly overnight, Nancy Monaco stepped up to build Morticia’s black dress and Wednesday Addams’ outfit.
Like Valley was forced to do, Linganore is scrambling to find local theaters and high schools to help cover its costuming needs.
“It’s so unfortunate that this group would be OK with taking advantage of high school arts programs,” Smithhisler said. “We pay for our costuming and show licenses straight from previous ticket sales and donations. We do not receive any money or funding from the county or school. So this has been a major hit on our finances.
“Luckily, we have a very supportive community that has stepped up to help support us and bolster the financial loss we’ve suffered.”
Valley’s production of “The Addams Family” will have its public debut Thursday. Linganore will be staging “Shrek” beginning next week.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
