For theater in the coming school year at SLVHS, “Grease is the word.”
On a busy Friday morning, Will Guilford, high school drama director, was thrilled to announce that the spring show for the 2016- 17 school year will be the popular musical “Grease”. Information regarding auditions for “Grease” will be available later this year through the theater department. Show dates for the musical will be April 27th through the 30th, and May 4th through the 7th, a total of seven performances.
Avis Beiden, President of SLVHS Drama Boosters, recently indicated that there will be three drama productions and one showcase this year. Drama II students will perform eight ten minute plays in two performances, on November 4th and 5th. The student directed production, which will be announced later this year, will take place March 3rd through the 6th and then March 9th through the 12th. The fourth and final show of the year will be the high school Drama II Showcase, taking place – for one performance only – on June 2nd.
The policy of the theater department is that only students in the Drama II class are allowed to take part in the fall production of the eight ten minute plays. Some theater participants feel that students who are not enrolled in the Drama II class should be allowed to participate. This would include involvement in the eight ten minute plays in the fall and the showcase in the spring.
The rehearsals will be held during class and Wyatt Troxell, a freshman interested in drama, said that exclusion from the fall and end of school year productions is unfair, and that it limits the after-school opportunities to participate in theater for all students including those who do not plan on continuing with theater after graduation.
Mr. Guilford has planned a new curriculum for the coming school year making the Drama II class and productions a valuable experience for either students seriously considering the pursuit of theater beyond high school, or not.
Ms. Beiden said that to help clear up confusion and for students, teachers, and parents to get to know each other better, the Drama Boosters will be hosting a movie night this coming October. Experienced actors, crew members and parent volunteers will be on hand to provide answers, give examples and even offer tours of the new Performing Arts Center. This will be an exciting and not to be missed event for all interested parties. The movie being shown that night will be “Grease”, which will be a great opportunity for all students, including those excluded from participation in the Drama II productions, to get background on one of the two shows in which they are allowed participate. The upcoming movie night will be held October 2nd, 5:00- 8:00PM at the PAC.
“Mr. Guilford can also provide additional details about the format for the Drama II class and productions, along with how it supports learning the broad spectrum of theater roles and tasks,” said Ms. Beiden. If the choice of “Grease” as the spring musical is any indication, given its multi-generational popularity, then the coming school year promises to be full of theatrical excitement.
By Tulsi Carroll
The Claw 