Bringing Hamlet to the stage in a high school setting is a daunting task for all concerned; simultaneously to stage Lord of the Flies over the two weekends around the Thanksgiving holiday raises a big quesiton: "Who on earth would try that?" A Bay Stater familiar with high school drama in hazarding a guess might say, "the Prep." That would be correct and possible only because of the genius of Brother Ron Santoro, CFX and his ability to delegate considerable responsibilities to able students and understudies. These are the facets of St. John’s Prep drama that a parent and Brother’s assistant director, Ed Byrne, ’01 cited as the most attractive and valuable gifts of this talented moderator. With Brother’s faith placed in his young proteges, they in turn team up and soar to impressive achievement. Prep drama is a perennial state drama festival finalist.

When Brother Ron was a younger Brother at Malden Catholic, the headmaster, Brother Robertus, in the style of those days, told him, "I want you to run the drama club." When Ron pleaded gross inexperience, Brother had a ready answer, "the kids will help you." Now the torch has passed to junior Ed Byrne and he is happily amazed to have this responsible position so soon. Attracted to the Prep by the wonderful facilities for the arts provided under the leadership of Brother Willian Drinan, CFX, Headmaster, the Prep Board of Trustees and the generous alumni and friends of St. John’s, Ed finds the mentors at the Prep to enable him to realize his dreams. Initially drawn to music involvement, he moved from voice lessons to "doing tickets", to keeping everything running smoothly as stage manager, to assistant director–much growth inspired by a Brother’s confidence in him.