Lights, Masks, Action! Students Return to Stage
Drama classes work on tribute to Apple musical "Schmigadoon!" after a year of online school.
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
Drama classes work on tribute to Apple musical "Schmigadoon!" after a year of online school.
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
With masks in place and a whole lot of spirit, drama students have gone back to doing what they do best and that is putting on a good performance, along with the challenges with coming back in-person since the pandemic.
As we come back onto campus, the advanced drama classes have started working on the choreography and the music for the tribute play on the Apple TV Plus series “Schmigadoon!” “Schmigadoon!” is about two people finding a town living in a 1940s musical, which is a parody of the musical “Brigadoon” that came out in 1954.
As a freshman this year, Neta Branitzky is in the introductory drama class and like other sophomores, she’s new to Pioneer’s campus. Branitzky feels that after a year online, it has been fun to be in drama, and to socialize again.
“Like I love drama so the activities are just really enjoyable and I have a few friends that I can laugh with. I have a great group of friends at school and in class so it’s just super good for me after the trash can of a year we had.” Branitzky said.
Only a few students have returned to the advanced drama class from last year including Alex Wiklund, 11, who felt doing drama while online was boring.
“It's not the best, I gotta tell you. I didn’t like it at all. There wasn’t really a connection between the director and the actors or actresses. “ Wiklund said.
Since drama teacher Ashley Coleman was out on maternity leave, Kristen Osborne, who graduated from Pioneer and was a mainstay of the stage during her time here, temporarily took her place until after Oct. 11. As a Pioneer alumni, Osborne feels that one of the biggest changes of being back to Pioneer is having masks, but she’s happy to be back.
“It’s hard to be masked doing what we do, but we’re making it work.” said Osborne, “I think there is this really big sense of relief and euphoria on some level that we get to be creative together again.”
To be able to come to campus this year, students and staff must wear masks to attend classes. Taylor Pembrook, 10, hasn’t had fun with masks while dancing and singing.
“I already have asthma as it is, so dancing already takes my breath away, and plus with the masks and the singing it all becomes so hard to breathe and sing and dance all at once.” Pembrook said.
A lot of the excitement for this school year was being able to be with friends and to be able to socialize with people in class. For Wiklund, it is the same especially since COVID-19 limited the opportunities to make connections in theater.
“I’m excited to make new bonds and new connections because I think that is what theater is about.” Wiklund said.
Unlike advanced drama classes already working on the tribute play, intro to drama is working on other things. According to Branitzky next semester's tribute play is still unknown.
“I think they’re waiting for second semester,” Branitzky said, “For now we’re just learning the basics and more of the process and components of acting which is really cool.”
With the pandemic still a large part of everyday life, the winter musical has been canceled and the travel show has been moved to the next semester. The spring musical has yet to be announced, but whatever it is, drama will be back in action.
As we come back onto campus, the advanced drama classes have started working on the choreography and the music for the tribute play on the Apple TV Plus series “Schmigadoon!” “Schmigadoon!” is about two people finding a town living in a 1940s musical, which is a parody of the musical “Brigadoon” that came out in 1954.
As a freshman this year, Neta Branitzky is in the introductory drama class and like other sophomores, she’s new to Pioneer’s campus. Branitzky feels that after a year online, it has been fun to be in drama, and to socialize again.
“Like I love drama so the activities are just really enjoyable and I have a few friends that I can laugh with. I have a great group of friends at school and in class so it’s just super good for me after the trash can of a year we had.” Branitzky said.
Only a few students have returned to the advanced drama class from last year including Alex Wiklund, 11, who felt doing drama while online was boring.
“It's not the best, I gotta tell you. I didn’t like it at all. There wasn’t really a connection between the director and the actors or actresses. “ Wiklund said.
Since drama teacher Ashley Coleman was out on maternity leave, Kristen Osborne, who graduated from Pioneer and was a mainstay of the stage during her time here, temporarily took her place until after Oct. 11. As a Pioneer alumni, Osborne feels that one of the biggest changes of being back to Pioneer is having masks, but she’s happy to be back.
“It’s hard to be masked doing what we do, but we’re making it work.” said Osborne, “I think there is this really big sense of relief and euphoria on some level that we get to be creative together again.”
To be able to come to campus this year, students and staff must wear masks to attend classes. Taylor Pembrook, 10, hasn’t had fun with masks while dancing and singing.
“I already have asthma as it is, so dancing already takes my breath away, and plus with the masks and the singing it all becomes so hard to breathe and sing and dance all at once.” Pembrook said.
A lot of the excitement for this school year was being able to be with friends and to be able to socialize with people in class. For Wiklund, it is the same especially since COVID-19 limited the opportunities to make connections in theater.
“I’m excited to make new bonds and new connections because I think that is what theater is about.” Wiklund said.
Unlike advanced drama classes already working on the tribute play, intro to drama is working on other things. According to Branitzky next semester's tribute play is still unknown.
“I think they’re waiting for second semester,” Branitzky said, “For now we’re just learning the basics and more of the process and components of acting which is really cool.”
With the pandemic still a large part of everyday life, the winter musical has been canceled and the travel show has been moved to the next semester. The spring musical has yet to be announced, but whatever it is, drama will be back in action.