Theatre

Grade: 9-12
Prerequisite: None
Credit: .25

The main cast of the Simpson and Family Guy are only a handful of people. Each cast member plays multiple characters per each episode. This class will explore the world of the voice performer. We will go over vocal placement to achieve the perfect pod-cast voice, accents, vocal characters and sounds, and playwrighting. There will not be any public or class performances. We will be working with podcast apps and Garage Band to make recordings in place of being in front of an audience.  Homework for this class will only occur if you do not finish projects during class time.

Grades: 9-12 
Prerequisite: None 
Credit: .25  

Acting I is an orientation course focusing on the skills and techniques used by actors. Students will learn how to use their voice (diction, projection, inflection, emotion), as well as their bodies (gestures, tension, facial expression) to convey characters. These skills will be applied to, monologues and scene work throughout the class. No previous acting experience is required for participation in this class.

Grades: 9-12
Prerequisites: None
Credit: .25

Formerly titled IMPROV II. This class will focus on different versions of long-form improv, styles of comedy, and sketch comedy writing in the style of SNL, Monty Python, Key & Peele. At the end of the term, students will be able to share their sketches with an invited audience.

Grade: 9-12
Prerequisite: None
Credit: .25

This Theater History class will focus on older theater that doesn’t involve Shakespeare in this non-performance class. Revenge plays, Slap-stick and body humor, female playwrights, drag, and queer representation will be covered. Theater was against the law, theaters were closed due to disease, and actors were executed during this time period. Throughout the class, we will read excerpts from plays, create acts of rebellion and exploitation, and figure out how block buster movies go back 500 years.

Grades: 9-12
Prerequisite: None 
Credit: .25 

Improvisation is actors creating relationships, conflicts, dialogue and plot off the top of their heads. The class will provide the skills, control, confidence, mental agility, trust, and spontaneity all of which allow students to improvise. There will be a component of comedy writing for beginners, as well as basic long-form improv. Both of these elements will be elaborated in Comedy Sketch Writing  class.

Grades: 9-12
Prerequisites: None
Credit: .25           

An introduction class to the skills of Musical Theater. Students will have the chance to work and perform songs and pieces from modern musicals as well as traditional musical material. An emphasis on performing solos, duets, and chorus numbers, with basic choreography, will be incorporated into class curriculum. No pre-requisite, or previous Spring Musical experience is required.

Grade: 9-12
Prerequisite: None, but ACTING I is strongly encouraged
Credit: .25

We don’t have to speak to create stories. In this performance class, inspired by Slap-Stick, Commedia, European Clowning, and Devising, we will dive deep into techniques to create larger than life personas, epic fails, and laugh out loud moments. A strong willingness to fail over and over and over again is needed to be successful. Almost all scenes created will be scriptless, so no memorization is required. Techniques from ACTING I will be developed and expanded on. If you have no prior acting experience, teacher approval is needed.

Grades: 9-12 
Prerequisites: None 
Credit: .5 

Stagecraft I is designed to provide introductory practical level technical and production disciplines to students. This includes set design and construction, sound design, lighting design, properties production, costume design, hair, and makeup.  This course introduces students to the basic fundamentals of design, which are the same for theatre, architectural design, and fine arts. Stagecraft I is a lecture and demonstration course with an emphasis on creative projects and emphasizes the exploration process and communication tools that designers use to solve problems and communicate design ideas. 

Grades: 9-12
Prerequisites: Stagecraft I
Credit: .5

Building upon the foundational technical skills, creative problem-solving abilities, and effective communication developed in Stagecraft I, Stagecraft II offers students an immersive exploration into the specialized world of theatrical design. This course invites participants to apply their acquired knowledge to one specific area of design, fostering a deeper understanding and mastery of the skills required for successful execution. 

This class explores the art and craft of costume design for the stage. Students will study the history of theatrical costuming and how fabric, color, and symbolism help tell a character’s story. They’ll learn to design and render costumes, follow patterns, and construct wearable pieces for the spring musical using both traditional techniques and new technologies.  By the end of the semester, students will understand how costumes support storytelling in theater while developing real-world creative and technical skills.

Grade: 9-12
Prerequisite: None
Credit: .25

This Theater History class will be on a yearly rotation of topics. We will explore the origins of theater in this non-performing class. Spending time looking at Ancient Greek Theater, Japanese Noh and Kabuki, Indian Kathakali, African ritual and performance, and Indigenous American ceremonies and storytelling, we will see how they all have similar roots – especially masks. Throughout the class, we will spend time constructing different sorts of masks based on based on characteristics of certain styles: Large expressive masks to see from far away (Ancient Greek), small masks with visibility only to the sides (Noh), character masks (Kathakali and Kabuki) . Homework for this class will only occur if students do not finish projects during class time.

Grades: 9-12
Prerequisites: None 
Credit: .5 

This semester-long course ties directly to the Winter Play. Class time will be split researching and discussing the play, playwright, historical context, and culture along with actual rehearsal and crew build/work time. All students will be assigned a crew responsibility (props, marketing, build), and students who wish to audition for a role can. All students will be a part of a crew; however, you do not have to be a performer. Rehearsals for the play will take place during class time, as well as after school during the months of December and January. The Winter Show is performed at the end of January. To be in class, students need to commit to being in the production in January. 

The 2026-2027 Winter Show is Antigone by Sophocles. After both of her brothers kill each other in opposing sides of a war, Antigone, a teenager, dares to defy her uncle, King Creon, by burying her ‘traitor’ brother in spite of the cautions of her sister, Ismene. What follows is a story that calls into question notions of just leadership, the authority of elders over youth, and the responsibility of the individual versus rules of society. Set in the aftermath of a war-torn country, we will be performing in an immersive style where there is no separation between the audience and performers.