4 Poland students to direct shows at Student Showcase
POLAND – Poland Central School District Drama Club advisor
Mike Gagnon selected four students who have been in the club since sixth grade
to direct one-act plays in the upcoming Student Showcase.
The students have shown through their years in the program
that they are responsible, organized, dependable, dedicated and hardworking
both on the stage and behind the scenes, Gagnon said.
“Now, they’re going to put all that to good use,” he said.
The Student Showcase is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb.
17, and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 in Walker Auditorium at the school.
The following is a list of the student directors and their one-act plays:
- Senior Sydney Comstock is directing “Sorry,
Wrong Number.”
- Senior Katherine Burritt is directing “10,000
Cigarettes.”
- Senior Zoe Scialdone is directing “Impromptu.”
- Junior Chloe Gilman is directing “The Game.”
The students were able to choose their plays, cast them,
organize the stage work and run their rehearsals, Gagnon said.
“They’ve basically designed it from the ground up,” he said.
The skills that the students have learned through the Poland
Drama Club and are using to direct the plays – such as leading a group of
people – will remain beneficial for them for a long time, Gagnon said.
“These are skills that they need after they leave these
hallways that you can’t always teach in the classroom,” he said.
The plan is to first see how everything goes with the
Student Showcase and then decide on the future, but there does seem to be
interest in doing it again next year, and there are students who would be ready
to become directors, Gagnon said.
Another benefit of the Student Showcase is that it fills a
gap between the fall play and the spring musical, so it keeps students engaged
and gives them something to do – especially if they’re not involved in sports,
Gagnon said.
“It’s stretching the
Drama Club out to a full-year program,” he said.