The drama department plays a part in one of the many things that make going to Erie High School fun. As of now, with the hybrid schedule, the department appears to be going with the flow, and coming out on top. 

Scott Wright, the drama teacher at Erie High, when talking about having students being able to come back in-person, starting Monday, October fifth., says, “I think we have the opportunity to do something that is great.” 

The department has been through quite a bit the last year, and many students have missed out on the activities normally planned, “Last year we lost out on our spring musical. And then we had an April 8 show that we didn’t do,” Wright adds, “So, the kids are really excited. Students are really excited to come back, to be doing something.”

One of the many notable things about the drama department is the interaction between the students in the plays and skits they do. But, with half the students learning from home, there have been some problems, Wright laments, “they were having technical issues and all of that, so it’s hard to go back and forth… [because drama is] not a stationary class.”

Despite this setback, from the student’s perspective, the change to being able to have in-person contact has been good.

Kylie Boggus, a student at Erie High who is actively involved in the drama department explains, “[The drama department has] adapted really well…  and it kind of felt like we were together, and definitely made discussions a lot easier.” she then adds, “[Mr. Wright] did a really good job of making it feel like we’re all together.”

With this newfound connectivity, the drama department is looking forward to the future, “Right now we are discussing what we could possibly do at the end of the year for our audition[s],” Boggus says.

That is not all though, the department has also been planning opportunities for the students to showcase what they will learn during the semester, in the form of short plays. Wright explains, “there [will be] four different One Acts that students are going to be directing.” 

Of course, there are some challenges the department has been facing. Mainly, it is the inability to be fully interactive with the students.

“Improv [class] was probably the hardest one to get going on virtually because it’s hard to interact with people online.” Wright exemplifies

Boggus also expresses this same difficulty, “I think over screens it is a lot harder to connect emotionally with the character and with the [audience]”

In the end, the drama department is just looking forward to being in person once again.

Wright expresses the hope that once regulations are lifted that, “Everyone would take a [drama] class… and in conjunction with that, just being able to have [the students] do live performances.”

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