Okay, so, I decided to join the Penn Middle Drama Club, thinking it would be a fun way to spend some time and maybe make a few friends. Turns out, it’s a whole lot more than I expected!
First off, I walked into the first meeting, and it was a mix of people, some super excited, some looking like they were dragged there by their friends. We did some icebreakers, which, you know, can be awkward, but it helped to figure out who’s who.
- I found out that you can choose what you want to do, like acting, or helping backstage. I thought I’d try acting, even though I’ve never done it before.
We started with some basic acting exercises. We did things like reading monologues, which is basically a long speech by one person, and some improv, where you make things up on the spot. It was tough at first, trying to get into a character and not laugh when someone else was being super dramatic. But it was also a lot of fun. There’s this one exercise where you have to pretend to be an animal, and let me tell you, watching a bunch of middle schoolers act like monkeys is pretty hilarious.
Then, we got into rehearsing for the spring musical. They said they were doing “Annie Jr.”, which I’d never heard of, but it sounded cool. I auditioned for a small part and got it! I was pretty nervous about that, but the older kids were super supportive, giving tips and stuff. They even double-cast some of the roles, which means two people play the same character, so there’s less pressure on one person.
- We started rehearsing like crazy. It was tough sometimes, especially with schoolwork and other stuff. But everyone was working together, and it felt like we were making something special.
- There was some drama, of course. Hormones and changing relationships sometimes made things hard but overall, it wasn’t too bad.
The older kids in the club were really helpful. There was this one girl, Katelynn Powell, a graduate from a couple of years ago, who came back to help. She had this way of making even the weirdest scenes make sense. She and other older kids really helped us embrace the whole process and we all grew a lot. It helped me a lot, especially with getting over my stage fright.
Putting on the Show
After weeks of rehearsing, we finally got to perform! It was nerve-wracking, but also amazing. Seeing the audience react to our play, laughing and clapping, it made all the hard work worth it. We performed for two weekends because we had to stream it online. It was a huge sprint, but we made it!
Joining the drama club was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I learned a lot about acting, made some great friends, and got to be part of something really cool. If you’re thinking about joining a drama club, I say go for it! It’s a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it.
