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Article by Kim

The High School Drama club begins on the first day of each semester with an informational meeting, followed later that week by try-outs. Practices run from 3:40 until 5:30 after school every Thursday for the entire semester.

On the second weekend of the first semester, the members and directors of the club escape to the Christian Convention Center for an overnight retreat. This event is much anticipated, for it is a time to bond  with the other cast members, learn new speaking and memorization tips, and improve acting skills by playing drama games that stretch each person's ability to portray different characters and build confidence.    

With all these new ideas still fresh in their minds, the cast members return to school, prepared for a semester of rehearsing the play. A variety of plays are preformed at Dalat - from mysteries to comedies to classics - allowing those involved to experiment with different aspects of drama, including settings, characters and tone. Different style of plays are preformed as well - some are full length, and some are multiple one-act plays. All club members are expected to come to each practice, regardless of whether or their scene is scheduled to practice on stage that day. If someone is not on stage, they spend that time memorizing lines, working with other members on a scene, working one-on-one with one of the other directors or picking out costumes.

The most exciting events of the year are the final performances. These take place in early December for the first semester production and late May for the second semester production. It is a busy week for all cast members, beginning with a morning practice on Saturday, a dress rehearsal Monday and performance on Thursday and Friday (first semester) and Tuesday and Friday (second semester). Cast members must be there an hour in advance to get their hair and make-up done. Then the curtains go up, and the performance begins.

Finally, after the audience applauds on Friday night, there is time to take photos of the actors, followed by a cast party. The party consists of junk food and whatever activities the directors come up with - playing games, watching videos, or just running around being loud - which lasts until 11 or 12 that night. Summing up the whole experience, one drama member says, "When the night is over, you're exhausted, and you are glad it's all done. But at the same time you are sad, because you've worked on it all semester and had so much fun. So in the end, it's definitely worth it!"