Though finals are usually stressful, the assessment for Drama 1 this year was quite the opposite, although preparing it was a lot of work.
I received my roles and got my script on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving break.
In the “Polar Express,” I was a dancing waitress. There was not much room between the chairs of the makeshift train to dance like in the movie, so I just swayed to each side as I walked down the aisle. I was a bit nervous for this because I don’t like dancing, but it went well.
In “The Night Before Christmas,” I was a sleeping child. When it was my cue, I sat up and said selfishly, “Once I get my presents I’m not going to share,” which was my first line performing in front of an audience since fifth grade, and it was fun to deliver.
Denise Smith, the Beginning Drama teacher, taught us a special bow where we brought our arm up and turned simultaneously. Smith wanted it absolutely perfect so she made a lot of small critiques. It almost seemed like our final grade depended on the angles we held our arms at!
Everyone wore their costumes for the dress rehearsals and we all looked kind of silly. Dalton Eckert, a senior in Drama, wore a beard. The fluffy white hair covered so much of his face you only see his eyes, so it was hard to tell who he was.
When the show day finally came, we had kindergartners from three different elementary schools. A total of 280 students from
Pleasant Valley, Olive, and Lu Sutton were in the audience.
The kids were thrilled to see all of us perform. They especially loved our elves, Ana Paloglou and Cris Martinez, from Resource teacher Brian Khoury’s class, because they were so silly. They didn’t have any lines, but they danced all around and giggled sweetly.
This year’s play was special to Smith because after this she plans on retiring.
“The show was spectacular. I really loved it,” Smith said.
I’m glad I was able to perform in Mrs. Smith’s last year of teaching…and that at least one of my finals was a lot of fun.
