Getting involved in the WHS Theatre Department

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STUDENTS - There are a variety of ways for students to be involved in the WHS Theatre Company. Some students spend hours each day working in the theatre, and some just stop in from time to time to lend a hand - but we love having anyone and everyone who is interested in the theatre!

 

CLASSES: Each grade level has a different set of theatre classes in which they can enroll.

• All grades: TECHNICAL THEATRE - an exploration of all things backstage: scenic construction, lighting, sound, costumes, etc. Students can earn leadership positions on the theatre production team. Class can be repeated as Advanced Technical Theatre as many times as desired - some students take tech every single semester from 9th-12th grade!

• Freshmen: INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE - a study of the basics of professional theatre, from improv, to scene work, to theatre norms, to playwriting.

• Sophomores: INTERMEDIATE ACTING - a scene study class that focuses on dramatic and comedic scenes from contemporary American theatre, including a section on monologue auditions.

• Juniors and Seniors: ADVANCED ACTING - a by audition only class for those students who want to seriously pursue acting. A one or two year course that covers theatre history, schools of acting, movement and vocal workshops, character development, and audition/competition material. Auditions occur in June, and are only open to students about to become juniors or seniors; however, no previous experience or theatre class enrollment is necessary.

 

PRODUCTIONS - We put on 3 major productions a year (Fall Play/Small Musical, Winter Play, Spring Musical), as well as a student-directed showcase called Dramafest at the end of the year. Students can be involved in either the acting/performing aspects of the shows, the technical/production aspects of the shows, or both!

 

• Acting: Involvement in the performances is by audition. The Fall and Winter shows require students to be part of the WHS Theatre Company (auditioned); however, the Spring Musical and Dramafest are open to anyone and everyone! See the “Auditions” section for how to get involved as an actor!

 

• Technical/Production: Everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved in the technical side of our shows! We break our technical production team into several different crews (House, Lighting, Sound, Painting, etc.). 

  • Each show has a different set of technical needs; however, there are always certain crews that are needed for each show. Some crews (Construction, Painting, Costume) do the majority of their work during the school day in the Technical Theatre class, while some only happen on the nights of shows (House crew). 

  • Sign-up sheets for all crews go up about a month and a half before the performance dates, and anyone is welcome to sign up for any position. 

  • We do have 1-2 Saturday “build days” per show, where anyone who is interested in helping out can come and help build/paint the set, paint banners, sew costumes, craft props, etc. 

    • These build days are a great way to get involved if you cannot fit Technical Theatre into your class schedule. 

    • Parents and alumni are also VERY welcome at the build days!

 

AUDITIONS - Each show has its own audition (usually about 2 months before opening), and there is an open audition for the Theatre Company (Advanced Acting) for upcoming Juniors and Seniors at the end of each school year.

• The auditions for the Fall and Winter shows are only open to members of the Theatre Company, but auditions for the Spring Musical are open to all WHS students. 

 

• Spring Musical auditions are usually in mid-late February, and include singing a short piece from the musical and a brief dance audition. Materials are available at the beginning of February on the call board (across from room 405), and we usually run an audition prep workshop a few days before the actual auditions. 

 

• Advanced Acting/WHS Theatre Company auditions are in June of each year, and are only open to students headed into their Junior and Senior years. There are no pre-requisite classes for the audition; however, previous enrollment in Intro to Theatre or Intermediate Acting is helpful in developing the skills being evaluated in the audition. The audition is 2 minutes long and consists of two contrasting monologues (contemporary/classical, comedic/dramatic, etc.). For more information, see Mr. B.

 

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