Drama Club: Walking in Wonderland

Participation Proves a Welcoming Endeavor for Newcomer

January 12, 2022

Being a freshman this year, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I walked into E.O. Smith for the first time. I’d been a remote student for the past year and a half, so in addition to having to adjust to a new school, I knew I would also be adjusting to school with Covid-19 protocols. Bottom line, I was nervous – for a number of reasons.

Before school started this past fall, I’d been encouraged by several people (and by my own interest) to join E.O.’s Drama Club. I enjoy acting and it seemed like a good opportunity for me to branch out and meet new people, so I decided to join. At first, I’ll admit it was kind of awkward for me, because the group seemed so close-knit. As with most things, though, I eventually had the opportunity to meet a few people and began to feel more like a part of the team.

The Drama Club team just finished production of its first performance of the school year, Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Jason Pizzarello and directed by senior Madelyn Bonkowski. It was certainly an experience to watch the play come together as we grew closer to showtime. In the scenes where I made an appearance as the Dormouse, I was even more in awe of the way the group moved from raw script to full-out acting onstage.

The incredible costumes for the production were made by Myra Morgan, who is also a senior. Due to Covid-19 and the need for social distancing, the audience was smaller in size, but it was no less engaging and fun to watch snippets of the performance while waiting backstage. Opening night, I was nervous, because I hadn’t been in a play or performed at all since seventh grade. As soon as I walked onstage for my scene, I felt right at home. In being a part of Drama Club, I learned a lot about ensemble and presence onstage. Through being a part of this play, I discovered the close community of the club, and the power of people of all kinds coming together to create something spectacular in a fairly short amount of time.

Right before the show, the whole cast and crew participated in the traditional Drama Club warm-up before performances. It was such a simple activity, yet doing it with all of the other actors and crew made me feel like a real member of the club and an important part of the performance. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of Alice in Wonderland, especially considering the trials of the pandemic we’re living through. But as they say, the show must go on! — And it certainly did.

A big round of applause for all who were involved and contributed their time to creating the world of Wonderland on E.O. Smith’s stage! Notes from the director and costumer as well as names of the cast and crew can be found at https://eospantherpress.com/?p=976&preview=true

Don’t miss the Drama Club’s upcoming production of The Crucible, showing Saturday, February 12th and Sunday, February 13th.