The advent of coeducation at Middlesex in 1974 made it possible for Helena White to join the sophomore class in 1975 and attend the alma mater of her brother Dan ’72. Appreciated for her talents on the Middlesex stage, she was elected the first female valedictorian in 1978. After graduating from NYU with a degree in theater/video, Helena worked for several film and television production companies, while also performing with the avant-garde theater company of John Jesurun (a 1996 MacArthur Fellow) at various off-off-Broadway theaters and at theater festivals abroad. While teaching at a summer chamber music and children’s theater festival, she met her husband Bruce and worked alongside him at St. John the Divine, where he was head of productions and then music director. Together, they produced many of the Cathedral’s major events. In 1996, the Fifers joined the faculty at the Taft School, where Bruce leads the Arts Department and the choral music program, and Helena teaches beginning and advanced acting, comedy and improvisation, and public speaking.
Middlesex had only been coeducational for one year when you enrolled. Was the transition easier for you as the youngest of 11 children?
I think having nine older brothers made is a lot easier! I thought, “What’s the big deal? We’re going to feel like the minority because we are 60 girls.” I was used to being around boys, loved the attention we got, and the other girls were all great. I think Admissions did a great job of choosing the girls.
When you think of Middlesex, what are some of your favorite memories of experiences and people here?
The faculty was so fun. There was no feeling of “us” and “them.” And the friendships with the girls in the dorm – they are still some of my best buddies.Crew was also big for me. We won the New England Championships for two years in a row and went to the Nationals in Seattle, Washington, where we were competing against big California clubs. [Impressively, Middlesex came in third there after two crews that rowed year-round.]
What was it like to be the first female Valedictorian?
When my class voted me as the class speaker, I’m sure they were thinking, “Let Helena do it; she can handle it.” But I was terrified. Who could I ask to help me? I asked [English teacher] Kit Cohane ’59, and he gave me feedback: “What do you want to say, Helena?” and “You can’t say that.” I was full of clichés, and he wouldn’t let me get away with anything.
While you are immersed in your work at Taft, do you ever think, “What would Hugh Fortmiller do?”
Yes, I do! I When I was asked to direct the musical four years ago, the last musical I had done was at Middlesex. I thought of Hugh and surrounded myself with really good people, and I was honest and said, “Let’s do this together.” And I called up Tom Kane at Middlesex and talked with him. He was really helpful. He’s someone I consider a mentor, even if I don’t talk with him that often.
Has it surprised you at all that you have an established, boarding school career?
Yes, very much – although I used to look at the families at Middlesex and think, “That’s such a great life,” which is probably why I had it in the back of my head. I love what I do. I love to stretch kids and show them what they can do – let them see that they’ve got talent. I have taught improvisation since I’ve been at Taft, and I am proud that an astounding number of my students go on to do improv in college, and beyond.
I love teaching public speaking as much as I do acting. Often, students will sign up for the class because their parents suggest it, or “because it doesn’t feel like an art, and I don’t really like art,” and through the class, they learn how to tell their own stories and to see the value and the effect of entertaining an audience with a personal story.