Drama Students Travel to DeSales
In front of a statue of Jane Frances de Chantal, sophomores Lily McDonald, Kendra Speak, and Jake Montgomery pose for the camera. The Drama Club, Stage Crew, and Dramatic Literature class went on a field trip to DeSales University to watch a Shakespeare play. “It was nice to see profesional actors so we can learn from them and do better. The show was good and fresh,” Autumn McDonough, senior said.
On October 4, a group of around 30 students in various drama classes as well as members of stage crew went on a field trip to DeSales University. Though the main event of the trip was a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” students were able to participate in workshops that helped them understand the show and what actors do to train.
Mrs. Malek, English teacher, said “The willpower tour offers a unique opportunity to take hands-on workshops with professional teaching artists and to make the content material truly come alive and be very personal for the students. Additionally the opportunity to see live professional theater is crucial to the artistic and academic development of students.”
Students were split into groups when they participated in these workshops. Actors from the show demonstrated skills that they use when they perform . The workshops also helped the students better understand the play that they were about to watch. Some of the activities included trying to make other people laugh using only one sentence, battling other people in “rock, paper, scissors” and practicing different types of movements that actors use.
Noah Fredericks, junior, said, “They made us do weird gestures… but it was fun.”
The show the group of actors performed was a classic by Shakespeare, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It is a comedic play about several pairs of lovers who are tricked into loving other people through love potion shenanigans. By the end of the play, everyone ends up with who they were supposed to be with, and everyone lives happily ever. Even though the plot seems simple, this group of actors were able to bring the comedy to life with a more modern take on many of the old jokes that may have been lost on the audience otherwise.
Autumn McDonough, senior said, “It was nice to see profesional actors so we can learn from them and do better. The show was good and fresh.”
Everyone enjoyed the trip for the activities offered, and everyone was able to get something out of it. Evan Spevak, senior, said “I enjoyed being with my friends and being away from school for a day.”