Junior High Drama

The junior high drama program at St. Patrick Catholic invites students to explore various aspects of drama: theatre history, oral interpretation of poetry and literature, cross-curriculum studies with theatre and history, creative writing (including writing for the screen) and the elements of theatre production.

In seventh grade, while studying theatre production, students read and analyze a Pulitzer-Prize winning play, create their own scene design for a production of the play and a costume design for a character from that play. Students perform scenes from the play, filling various roles: actor, designer, director, stage manager.

In eighth grade, students help adapt a classic children’s story/folktale/fairy tale for performance to the lower grades. Students fill specific roles for the production: acting; designing: sound, props, scenery, costumes; and stage management. After the performance, students visit the lower grades to talk to their audience and get their feedback: What do they remember? What were the themes in the play? Were there parts that were confusing or difficult to understand? Back in their classroom, students discuss possible revisions to the process to make a future production stronger.