SCHOOLS
g n i d n i F y a W Their
The “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” cast. (Photo courtesy Sandra Day O’Connor High School)
O’Connor students discover their inner performer By Jadyn Fisher
S
omething great that I have learned about high school is that everybody has their “thing.” Whether they realize it or not, people will look at their peers differently depending on their involvement in various activities. Through the SDOHS theater department’s recent production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” which I was lucky enough to be a part of, the students are bringing a positive light to the O’Connor stage. It started with a class of 17 theater students their freshman year. They moved through four years of theatrics together and formed bonds that will last a lifetime. For their senior show, they decided to put on “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” With the help of sophomore and junior classmates who filled out the ensemble cast, they saw their vision come to life. Whether the students had been in the program for four weeks or four years, everybody was passionate about making the show the best it could be. The days leading up to opening night were stressful. Everyone’s hands were on deck, including the stage production crew and general theater classes, to get the set and stage ready to shine. Despite feeling a little nervous, everyone was excited to show off what they learned.
Senior Amy Alley played Belle. “Belle was a role I’d wanted to play since I started acting,” she says. “When it was decided we were to do ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as my class’ senior show, it was initially supposed to be a secret, and I was so excited that keeping a secret like that was nearly impossible. “This being my last production with my high school, it felt really full circle to exercise all of the artistic muscles I have developed over the past four years and put them all on display for patrons of the arts to see. My favorite aspect of this show was how unified the cast was. Regardless of the setbacks, our
cast really had a wonderful way of overlooking our own stress and focusing on the big picture. I was really grateful for that because anybody who’s ever participated in theater knows how rare that mindset can be. It was truly rewarding when kids would run up to me after the show and tell me how much they loved it. It made the entire process so much more worth it.” After being a part of this amazing production, I know theater is one of my passions. I hope that all high school students have a chance to find their “thing,” too. For more information on SDOHS theater programs, visit dvusd.org/Page/25239.
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