For their first production as a newly-founded club, the BGHS Drama Club has chosen to perform a modernized version of Romeo and Juliet. The play features members of the Drama Club, and is directed by the President, Morgan Martin, and Club Manager, Elizabeth Reeder.
The Drama Club was founded last year as a way to give students interested in theatre another place to enjoy it, especially if they’re not interested in musical theatre. It was originally founded by Morgan Martin and Sarah Pannell. The Drama Club is a student-led club, meaning they have little to no teacher involvement in their club activities. Despite the club having two student directors, Mr. Parry, an English teacher at BGHS, still oversees the club activities.
He says that, “The drama club is 100% student led and the student directors have done an amazing job.” He expressed his excitement for people to watch their performance and acknowledged the hard work the drama club has put into this play.
Lydia Houchens, a sophomore at BGHS, is playing the role of Juliet. She has been a part of Drama Club since its founding her freshman year. She enjoys the community Drama Club provides her, she says, “It’s a safe space for everyone … It’s really welcoming.” The opportunities Drama Club provides to students for one-on-one instruction are unmatched, Lydia says. In the audition process for the play, she memorized a short excerpt from the script and participated in an improv game that determined how well actors could portray different characters. She was a part of the Les Mis cast last year, and admits that the play is very different because of the smaller group size and student-led aspect. The cast had a lot of input into the directing and acting, which Lydia thinks is a part of the benefit of student directing. Lydia says, “I’m very excited for the show, It’s gonna be awesome.”
The play is being presented during the school day and at 7pm on December 5th, this Friday. Tickets are being sold in the Commons during lunch throughout the week, so pick one up and come support the BGHS Drama Club!
