The College Prep Drama program welcomes students of all skill levels and backgrounds.

Our productions strive for high artistic excellence while offering exciting and creative opportunities to students who choose to participate. There are two major drama productions every year--one in the fall and another in spring, where students shine on stage and behind the scenes, in the cast or doing technical theatre.

Visit our Current Drama Production web page to find out more information about the current production.

This class is an introduction to the fundamentals involved in the art of acting. Both individual and ensemble work are emphasized, as participants develop spontaneity, imagination, and the expressive use of the body and voice through exercises, improvisation, games, and in-class scenework building towards the production of a one-act play at the end of the year. This class also provides a foundation for those interested in auditioning for the drama productions. 

The drama productions are the main performance-oriented programs offered in drama. Productions span a great variety of theatrical styles and time periods. Recent productions have included: Fiddler on the Roof, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Love of the Nightingale, Yellow Submarine-Across the Seven Seas, Ash, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, The Tempest, Guys and Dolls, Inherit the Wind, and A Gap in Generations. No prior experience is required; enrollment and casting are by audition, usually held in the first week of each semester.

This is a class of special interest for budding filmmakers, writers, and those interested in acting and performing on video. The emphasis is to master the digital video medium and to use it to express the original stories and ideas about which the participants are passionate. The class begins with an introduction to the basic aesthetics of film/video, seeing examples drawn from various works. We explore working with digital video cameras, from shooting to importing footage, and editing video and audio. Then, the class focuses on all the major responsibilities involved in the conception, storyboarding, planning, shooting, and editing of a video. The class builds towards the finished production of short pieces that are screened in a “Festival of Shorts.” 

Students acquire hands-on experience as they work with a wide variety of tools and techniques commonly used in the creation of theatrical productions. This class is designed to develop “can do” confidence when working with physical materials, to nurture artistic sensibility, and to encourage students to have fun with the creative process. Projects may include carpentry, stage lighting, metalwork, sound design, mask-making, scenic paint techniques, theatrical make-up, and design for the stage. 

In Drama Tech students design and create all of the technical aspects of the drama production each semester. The class begins by reading the play, discussing it with the director and determining what the “look and feel” of the play should be. Tech students then create the sets, props, costumes, light and sound for the play. During the performance, class members crew the show backstage and in the tech booth. No prior experience is required.