Middle school drama adds additional production

Photo by Silas Battaglia Middle school drama practice in groups. They are diligently preparing for the upcoming production.

ACTS drama club is making some changes to their program. The middle school drama program is having a separate play for the first time in The King’s Academy history. They will have a musical in the spri

ng, as well as having a play in the fall. This big change has many of the students of drama and of the school excited.

“I'm really excited about adding a play to the middle school drama productions. I think it gives us really good opportunities to grow and develop our skills,” Eighth grader Caliane Swafford said. “I also think it's a great opportunity for those who love to act but don't love to sing and dance to showcase their skills.”

 Opportunities are arising with the new production.

“I think it is exciting to have a new take for middle school drama,” Seventh grader Isaac Soucy said.

This new show opens up many opportunities for the kids all over the program. The program used to offer only a musical for middle schoolers and not a show, because of this, you were required to have a decent voice to get a good role in the yearly musical. Regardless, the new show will bring more excitement and popularity to the middle school productions amongst the student body.

 “I think it gives more opportunities for us to learn and grow in drama as a whole,” Swafford said. “I love that you can work in a crew for one show and be in the cast for another. It allows us to learn and grow in all aspects of theatre.”

Though the new play brings lots of excitement, it also will bring some challenges. The new show means that there is only half the time to prepare for the musical then in previous years. Normally, there would be a whole year to get ready for the musical, but now there is only half a year. The team will have to work twice as hard to prepare.

“It will definitely be a challenge for those in the play, but they are all capable of meeting that challenge! I think working really hard to memorize lines and develop your character can help you succeed in time,” Swafford said. “Taking the time to practice every day on all aspects of your role can be very beneficial to the overall production.”

The program will be eliminating some of the previous activities planned for the first semester to make room for the play. Previously doing workshops, the team will not be able to do as many practicing and preparing sessions. 

“For the past several years, the first semester was spent doing theater workshops and preparing for the Gala. We typically didn't start working on the musical until January, so there isn't much change with the schedule,” Marcinko said. “Because we've had the Elementary Drama Club for several years, many of our students are coming to middle school with a great deal of talent already, therefore we can dive right into auditions and rehearsals for the play.”

These students have a lot of skills and are able to jump right into the preparation for the play and musical.