by Areli Hernandez Romero
The cast and crew of “Once Upon a Mattress” is excited to announce their grand opening night, which is Nov. 1. With the support of directors, cast, and crew members, they anticipate taking over the stage and bringing life to their roles.
Show dates are also performed Nov. 2, Nov. 3, Nov. 7, and Nov. 8.
All photos by Areli Hernandez Romero and Abygail Lawson.
by Abbigail Hollins and Aurora Grisham
From voices to instruments to improv, the JHS arts has much to offer those who are musically inclined. While the performances highlight the many talents of the students here, the process of joining each class begins much before the performances do.
To begin a musical journey into choir, music education and choral teacher Kyle Broady said students should talk with a counselor about joining. The requirements are simple for joining chorus class.
“For regular chorus, no skills are needed, although a past (with music) is helpful. Upper chorus, you have to qualify,” said Broady.
Students are required to be engaged during class. There are also times that students are required to stay after school to practice. However, with the chamber choir, the expectations are a bit higher because they are more experienced.
On Thursday, Sept. 18 Broady said the annual Gospelfest will be performed in the JHS auditorium. Additionally, On Dec. 9 and 11, there will be a Winter Fantasy performance with solo and ensemble musicians. In choir, students will be required to wear uniforms for performances, which consist of formal, black attire.
Continuing the journey into theater, theater arts teacher Derrick Ledbetter said to get into his class that students must audition. Ledbetter said the biggest skill to have in the theater experience is an open mind.
Ledbetter encourages students to rehearse and prepare for the JHS theatrical performances. In late October, theater students will perform “Once Upon a Mattress” and later in the year, they will perform “Cyrano de Bergerac.”
Finally, ending this journey going into band, music education and band teacher Sidney McDonald said most students participate in band during middle school and sign up when they choose classes for high school.
“We’ve started a beginning band as well, for those who have never done band before,” said McDonald.
The teachers also offer extra help so that they can guide students.
“We have an open band room, which is after school on Wednesdays, so students can come work on any music they are struggling with,” she said.
Whether it’s theatre, art, culinary club, thespian club or tennis, Katie Dorman is always involved in something at Jeffersonville High School. But according to Dorman, her biggest accomplishment has been a club that is growing quickly.
“I like that I’ve been a part of plays…I like that I’ve worked hard at tennis, but right now I think my biggest accomplishment would be GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) and making progress in our club,” Dorman said. Even though Dorman did not start the club, she said she wanted to be involved with it, even before she realized that she was a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I always wanted to be a part of it just because I feel like it’s a nice way to spread more awareness of people who are just trying to make their way through life by being themselves,” Dorman said.
According to Dorman, the Gay-Straight Alliance has made progress through spreading awareness.“We’ve done booths during lunch, we’ve spread cards around, we have people coming in, sharing their experiences, having people who aren’t in the community that are straight but they’re allies and coming into the club just so they can be more aware,” she said. “We do spread kindness through everybody.”
In addition to the Gay-Straight Alliance, Dorman also has a passion for the arts and wants to study them in college. “I could have a minor in theatre,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about it. But primarily at the moment, probably just 2D art, maybe 3D art. Some digital design. Animation maybe. Getting into the basics…traditional art.” Dorman thinks that like the Gay-Straight Alliance, the arts can bring kindness. “I really think art can be very expressive,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be super deep, it doesn’t have to be something like Leonardo Da Vinci or anything like that. Make something simple, and then start sharing it with people. And that’s…a good way to spread kindness.”
One week she’s auditioning for the school play, the next week she’s diving headfirst off the diving board. Sophomore Disney Mullins is a busy girl with many interests, which can sometimes be rough, especially on a high schooler. Even with the stress it may come with, she manages to make things work in her favor.
Mullins has been diving since the eighth grade and even though she is three years into the sport, she has managed to achieve a notably high score. In her first year of diving at Jeffersonville High School, she received an MVP award for scoring the most points out of all of her team’s divers.
“I think diving is unique… it’s different from all the other sports out there, and I think that’s what makes it cool and exciting,” she says. “Plus it’s fun to do flips and stuff.”
In addition, Mullins has been doing theater since the age of three. So far, she has
managed to land a total of five leads by age 14, including Oliver Twist from “Oliver! the musical”, Gertrude McFuzz from “Seussical Jr.”, and Tinkerbell in “Peter Pan Jr.” “I really liked Peter Pan,” she states. “It was fun throwing glitter into the audience and into people’s faces.”
One of the biggest issues she has faced is timing. Diving season starts in the fall and
concludes in late winter. Meanwhile, the plays are scattered throughout the year. With the two activities occurring at the same time, Mullins thought she would have to choose one or the other. To her surprise, the coach and theater director were very considerate and helped her figure out a way to do both.
For example, during last year’s diving season, the theater department was rehearsing for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. “I would go to the most important rehearsals and when there was a dive meet, I’d go to that,” Mullins comments.
Although diving and theater might seem very different, they have one thing in common: Mullins always has an audience. And as long as she has one, she will continue to thrive in what she enjoys.
This weekend the Jeffersonville High School Theatre Department will take audiences through the looking glass with three performances of Alice in Wonderland, a production based on Lewis Carroll’s classic story about dreaming and identity.
Shows will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinée on Sunday, November 10.
Tickets are $10 for Jeff High students and senior citizens. The general admission price for others is $15. The ticket price includes a tea party with the cast after the show.
JHS Theatre director Derrick Ledbetter describes the show as “free-wheeling, highly imaginative and fast-paced.”
The show stars Anna Lowe as Alice. Other cast members include Gavin Van Fleet, Joryn Burns, Jesse Crull, Becken Maddox, Madison Conway, Hannah Dickens, Cassie Hawkins, Kennedy Smith, Hailey Hughes, Claire Storz, Abby Napper, Alex Seifert, Katie Dorman, Lydia Church, and Nathaniel Garner.
Written by Chloey Trinkle
thehyphennews.com 