Juniors take the stage in original drama productions

Students became actors last Saturday night when the American Literature class performed two plays, A Faded Flower and A Thread Amongst Many. The plays were written and performed by students and based on the classic, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.

Blessing Simamora, junior, described her experience of acting. “I enjoyed being an actor because I got to put myself in the shoes of a character. The most challenging aspect was performing and projecting real emotion. My favorite part of my role in the play was how I got to express what my character was feeling.”

Beyond acting, students experienced the various roles that go into live theater, including scriptwriting, set design, public relations, and videography. “This is the third time I’ve done this project but the first year that we had videographers as a position,” explained Miss Johnson, American Literature teacher. “Having some behind-the-scenes videos was fun, and it shows the process of our rehearsals to the audience.”

Noah Sturges, junior, reflected on his role as a videographer. “As the year went on, I gained footage and knowledge and slowly created my video. Even though the process was very long, I enjoyed it to the fullest.”

The plays were entirely written by students in the American Literature class, one of which was Brianna Bell, junior. “I really enjoyed being a playwright this year for the Am Lit plays! However, with this job came great challenges,” she explained. The playwrights had to condense the performances so they could perform them for the entire school. “It was difficult picking only two scenes to share with the audience. We wanted to share our whole play with them. Even though being a playwright was difficult, it was totally worth it!”

“The purpose of this project is for everyone to grow in something that they are good at but also to expand on their learning of A Raisin in the Sun,” Johnson remarked. “I think that it all turned out really well! The actors gave their absolute best performances and the sets looked amazing!”

Jayce Treat, Student News Team