High school students who’ve never acted make debut
Performing in front of a crowd can be intimidating for the most seasoned actors, but for inexperienced high school students, it can be downright frightful.
“But so many have potential that can easily be realized by simply stepping out in faith and participating in a short production” stated Jena High School Drama Club Sponsor Tracy Joy. “That’s what our twoact, short mini-plays were designed to do. Introduce them to the wonderful world of acting by providing them easy parts that allows them to discover their hidden talents.”
The Jena Drama Club is preparing for a major musical production for later this year entitled “Mamma Mia!”, and the extra cast members needed for the show required more high school student-actors than was currently enrolled in the club.
After auditions were held, Joy realized many of the “new” cast members had never acted before on stage, thus, the idea to present two short mini plays to get them adjusted was born.
After just a few short weeks of rehearsals, the production “Winter One-Acts” was presented last Friday night, January 30, at JHS with the new and seasoned actors working in tandem to bring to life two hilarious sketches that left the large audience laughing and cheering.
The first act, a 30-minute play that involved a casting director, played by Jessica Smith and her unenthusiastic assistant, played by Sam Cook, as they conduct auditions for over ten people. The auditions in the play “Bad Auditions by Bad Actors” prove to be quite challenging as shenanigans ensue, including a “cat”, a method actor and several other eccentric characters.
The second play, entitled “Appropriate Audience Behavior” was set during a stage production of Hamlet, but the attendees’ view is of a group of unruly audience members. These audience members talk loudly, cough excessively, sleep and eat spaghetti all during the show. The climax is when Hamlet himself, played by Bubba Stevens, halts the play and addresses the audience on how disruptive they’ve been.
“These one-act plays have full ensembles and were a fun introduction to being on stage for many of the students who had never acted before,” Joy said. “With ‘Mamma Mia!’ being performed at the end of the year, these short and simple plays allowed first-time actors to get their feet wet.”
The shorter productions also allowed a first at Jena High, where a student actually directed a play.
“We are also proud of Arin Ashley who had her first directorial debut as she directed the play, ‘Bad Auditions by Bad Actors,’” Joy said. “But we are very proud of all the students, their growth and all that they are doing to advance the arts through theater production at Jena High.”
The Winter One-Acts cast list included: Play 1, Bad Auditions by Bad Actors: (Directed by Arin Ashley/ Written by Ian McWethy)) Sam Cook, Jesilyn Poole, Bella Young, Bubba Stevens, Raylee Guillory, Emma Poole, Dalen McDowell, Olivia Jackson, Halie Butts, Hope Pennington, Natalie Rollins, Greyor Harris, Brayden Hood and Zaylee Walker.
Play 2, Appropriate Audience Behavior: (Directed by Tracy Joy/ Written by Ian McWethy) Bella Young, Natalie Parrott, Brayden Hood, Carrie Hall, Sam Cook, Zaylee Walker, Ava McGuffee, Arin Ashley, Callie Davidson, Sophie Reaves, Raylee Guillory, Jessica Smith, Taylor Parks, Dalen McDowell, Jillian Parker, Sandy LaCour, Olivia Jackson, Greyor Harris, Bubba Stevens and Natalie Rollins.
The JHS Drama Club is currently working on their final play/musical of the year, Mamma Mia!, set to be performed April 17, 18 and 19. Tickets for that production will be on sale this week.
(To keep track of all JHS Drama Club events, follow their Facebook page: Jena High School Drama Club.)
