On Nov. 7, a variety show will settle into place on the stage at Ethel Pope Auditorium and spotlight the talents of Santa Maria High School’s drama department.
Students have prepped almost a dozen skits that include mysteries, comedies, and choreographed dances for the Fall Drama Showcase.
Act One is called Queen of the Screen and is set in 1929. The story is about a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigates the murder of Norma Starr, the Queen of Silent Scream. There will also be a silent comedy in which moviegoers communicate through gestures.
Student Lauren Hunt said in a press release that the drama experience provides another way to communicate.
“Drama is especially important because it allows students to open up and truly find themselves apart from academics,” Hunt said in the release. Her skit Dramaholics is intended to show the audience the diversity in the art.
Drama Club advisor Merrie Okie-Goldin said in the release that she knows drama is teaching her students lesson they can carry with them for life.
“Drama helps students develop tolerance and compassion,” she said in the release. “In order to play a role, an actor must be able to bring another’s personality to life. An actor must be able to recognize how the world looks through another person’s eyes while understanding different points of view.”
The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 in advance, $7 at the door.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2014.