Spotlinght on Stage - Middle School Fall Play

Mirror Excercise - practicing focus and mindfulness

The Middle School cast and crew is hard at work preparing for their production of "The Phantom Tollbooth" that is being presented on November 14 & 15th.  Even though we have a short rehearsal process in the fall we spend a lot more time on acting skills than we do in the Spring with the musical.  This year we are focusing on "staying in the moment", which is forcing both the cast and crew to be more mindful.  This approach to acting is allowing our thoughts to be present with less judgement and gives us more control over our emotions.

Here's what the 5th-8th grade cast and crew are saying about the process...

7th Grader.: "The Phantom Tollbooth is a fun show to be in that challenges us as actors and technicians"

7th Grader: "It’s been so beneficial to be in this show because I’ve learned so many acting skills and I will feel so much more enlightened and prepared when it comes for me to do musicals."

6th Grader: "I love rehearsal! It is so much fun hanging out with my friends while acting. I love being able to be someone else as a character. I’ve learned that it’s hard not to judge yourself and others but in drama you can not judge."

5th Grader: "The fall show is a very fun and interesting experience. You get to do amazing things such as fun exercises. We do fun games. Recently I learned how to act a lot without speaking. In this show we also have to act as multiple characters, so that gives us even more experience as actors. It also gives us chances to do more things. A reason for the adults to be excited for the show is it might make you think of your childhood and your amazing imaginary thoughts you had."

8th Grader: "I like making little decisions about my character–like how I should position my hand on a certain word, or when to lift an eyebrow, or whether to stress the beginning or the end of a sentence. It's those details that can make the character convincing."

7th Grader: "The Phantom Tollbooth allows you to imagine, create, and become characters that you would never be able to see in real life!"

8th Grader: "My favorite part of tech is seeing the finished product of all the set, lights, and sounds all come together."