Most people who’ve seen High School Musical often want to imagine high school being just like how it’s portrayed in the movie. However, singing, dancing, and jumping on tables doesn’t happen at Cannon Falls High School. Mrs. Schwarz’s Drama class shines a light on the true horrors and the best parts of high school. From being trampled on while finding classes to graduation, the play turned out to be humorous yet relatable for many high school students.
The students who participated in the play worked hard to make it enjoyable. When moving onto the next scene everyone moved swiftly and steadily. Most of the students who participated in the play weren’t actually in Theater or One-Act itself. Instead, they are in sports or other clubs such as FCA, and to see them do well in the play means they put in a lot of effort to make sure the audience had a good time watching. They did not disappoint with how much emotion they expressed in each scene, as some appeared to be re-living parts of their high school past. Other times it seemed like they were containing their laughter because of how the scene was going. Everyone on stage appeared to be having a good time performing with each other and being on stage.
The students who took Mrs. Schwarz’s Drama class had a good idea of what to expect but weren’t exactly sure what the whole process of the class would be. Senior Grace Springer was unsure about the class at first, but after the play, she said that her favorite part of the performance was ”definitely getting to present in front of everyone.” The students had fun working with each other and learning about performing on stage. Senior Sam Wagenknecht who was also in the play had a fun time working with his classmates. After the play, he said, ”I believe we did a fantastic job working together with what we had.” The students of Mrs. Schwarz’s Drama class had a fun and educational experience with each other and overall enjoyed working and putting on the play together.
Some parts of the play made everyone laugh, such as Gavin Johnson feeling embarrassed of his mother (played by Sophie Sjoquist) every time she came to hug him, or appeared with the baseball coach (played by Jack Meyers). Leo Hernandez Lopez played not only his role well but his trumpet too. He also surprised the audience as a parrot “flying” around on and off the stage. Audience member Anya Nygaard said the play was “interesting, and definitely not what I expected it to be,” as she didn’t expect high school to be that full of chaos. The play left many middle schoolers uncertain about how high school would play out for them in the future. Another audience member Grace Otterness said, “I’m not sure how I feel about high school anymore.”
Each scene made the audience laugh and feel both joy and surprise. The play grabbed everyone’s attention and showed that high school is really what students make it. Near the end of the performance, Leo Hernandez Lopez chased Grace Springer across the stage, leaving the audience wondering if her scream was genuine as she ran away. Mrs. Schwarz’s Drama class is a great opportunity to learn more about the stage, people, and making others laugh.
