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Students will learn basic acting skills, both vocal and physical. They will study theatre history, from Ancient Greece to modern day, learning about the different styles of acting and theatre genres that emerged from each era. They will study different acting methods and theories, while they are encouraged to discover and develop their own unique style. These techniques and skills will be applied to several class performances throughout the year as well as one production for the public.
All the world’s a stage and we are Merely Players Junior… The Merely PlayersJunior is a drama club open to all 6th, 7th and 8th graders at The Geneva School. During the fall, the Merely Players meet weekly after school to play drama games and prepare scenes for performance in the District 2 Jr. Thespian Festival. In the spring, auditions are held for the Spring Play. The Merely Players is also an active troupe in the International Jr. Thespian Society, an internationally recognized honor society which promotes excellence in educational theatre. Students who are interested in joining Troupe #88768 can join after earning points through participation in theatre and paying a one-time fee of $6.00.
The District 2 Junior Thespian Festival will be hosted by Hagerty High School in Oviedo on Saturday, November 15. This year, Lisa Hines is serving as chair for the festival and will be taking TGS students to represent Troupe #88768.
News Flash: Nine TGS students performed at the District 2 Jr. State Thespian Festival, along with over 300 students from 19 schools. JESSICA SAUL received a rating of SUPERIOR for her solo musical entry "Popular" from Wicked. ABBY GORDIANY received a rating of SUPERIOR for her rendition of "Adelaide's Lament" from the musical Guys and Dolls. MOIRA CLOKE and NOEL BRIGHT each performed comedic monologues from the play How I Got That Part and each received the rating of EXCELLENT. GRACE PARK, KATLYNN BRUCE, KAITLIN GORDIANY, KATIE TRESSLER, and ABIGAIL GORDIANY performed a scene called The Umbrella. In spite of all the illness and absences that plagued their group, forcing their rehearsals to be sporadic and scarce, they still received a rating of EXCELLENT in Ensemble Acting. ELLIOTT SAUNDERS, not only was awarded a rating of SUPERIOR for his monologue: How Not to Talk to Girls, but was also given the CRITIC'S CHOICE award, which is the highest honor given to a performer in a category at the Festival. All nine of the students participating qualified to perform at STATE in February.
The grammar school drama program is an adventure in self-discovery. The students learn about themselves as they become aware of their inner talents and abilities, and learn how to command those talents to communicate with an audience. As they explore pantomime skills, the students develop their ability to communicate feelings and storylines nonverbally. They focus on expressing themselves physically, through posture, gesture and facial expressions. They learn how to face their audience with courage as they perform original scenes where they create their own characters and storylines. As they begin the study of voice, the students learn the basic skills of projection, articulation, and vocal expression. The students gain confidence as they speak in front of their classes, and later as they perform for larger groups in their class productions. During in-class performances, the students learn audience etiquette, as well as learning the art of giving and accepting constructive criticism with grace. Students continually build their self-discipline with each performance as they develop control over timing and reactions.
By the time a student graduates from the grammar school they should have the confidence, poise, and self-control to stand in front of an audience and deliver a message clearly and effectively. The skills that the students learn in the drama program are skills that they will take with them wherever they go.
Grammar School Drama Productions: For more information on the drama productions the grammar school students participate in, click here.
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