Gallery • 24 Photos

Connor Niszczak

Jaemon Crosby and Val Hummel teach the Middle schoolers the dance routine for the iconic "Popcorn Dance."

TOWAMENCIN-This past Friday night, the auditorium was bustling with dozens of middle schoolers as Thespian Troupe #5464 held their annual Middle School Workshops.

Every year, the workshops give Penndale, Pennbrook, and Pennfield students a chance to get a taste of what high school theater is like by participating in three of the offered workshops; Musical Theatre, Theatre Criticism, Getting Into Character, Improv, Dance, Theatre and Thespians 101, Backstage, and Costumes. 

In the “Musical Theatre” workshop, students learned an excerpt from “Story of my Life,” the ensemble audition piece for ‘Shrek.” In “Theatre Criticism,” advice on how to deal with criticism and not getting desired roles was given. 

In “Getting into Character,” middle schoolers did an exercise in which they were given a character and had to act as that character in a dinner party scene. In “Improv,” students played games such as “Park Bench” that taught them how to react in the moment and improve their improvisation skills. 

The “Dance” workshop taught students a section of the routine from “What’s Up, Duloc?,” which all high schoolers had to learn in “Shrek” auditions. “Theatre and Thespians 101” explained all aspects of high school theatre and what “thespian-ism” is really like. The “Backstage” workshop explained all of the jobs that happen behind the scenes and showed students the sound booth and backstage areas. Lastly, the “Costumes” workshop showed the middle schoolers the costume room and had them create hats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ulW10bxGU&feature=youtu.be

“Middle School Workshops help the middle school students to learn more about the high school and what theater is like here. We can give them advice about theater and just how to navigate high school in general,” Costumes workshop co-leader Lizzie Martin said.

“I learned to NEVER give middle schoolers glitter…ever,” Costumes co-leader Cyarra Cobbs joked.

After students attended their three chosen workshops, everyone gathered back in the auditorium for a Q & A session. High school thespians shared thoughts on what their experiences have been like in NPHS Theatre, and answered questions such as “Do you guys use lockers?” and “How hard is it to balance theatre and schoolwork?” NPHS Theatre Director Mrs. Roney was still out on medical leave, so Thespians also took time to explain the different theatre classes (Intro to Acting, Advanced Acting, Drama Major, and Designing for the Stage) that Roney teaches.

“The most important thing middle schoolers can learn about high school theater is all the friends you make along the way. It doesn’t matter if you’re an actor, or in stage crew, or what have you, because the friends you make are the best,” said junior Rojin Mortazavi.