Drama department spotlights student talent in New Works Festival

Photo by courtesy of @shsdrama_official on Instagram

Drama Club advertises sign ups for the New Works festival on social media.

Senior Drama Club officers Ananya Gupta and Amrita Gopal remember standing proudly as they watched the play they had written, “Lost in Translation,” come to life at last year’s New Works Festival. Gupta said the show always brings her excitement, especially since it’s the Drama Club’s last show of the year where students can display unique and different skills.

New Works is a festival of students’ written, directed and acted plays that are held in the Thermond Drama Center every year; this year it is on March 17 and 18. Organized by Drama Club, the event is open to anyone interested in participating, regardless if they have drama experience or are in the drama class. 

Students have already begun to prepare for New Works by writing their own pieces or preparing for auditions happening on Jan. 31 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. in the Thermond Drama Center. Acts were selected by the Drama Club officers after submission earlier in the year, leaving a handful of finalists. 

There are usually 40 participants from a range of students including writers, directors and actors as well as lighting and sound technicians. The festival features eight performances, some of which include original absurdist plays, realist plays and comedies. 

“It allows us to do shows that are chosen and written by us, while giving us this independence to tell the stories that we think are important to be told and explore so many different genres,” Gupta said. 

New Works enables students to experiment in different fields within the scope of theater that they don’t normally turn to. Students interested in multiple jobs, such as senior Dragon Neal, can code work on the light board for their own directed shows. According to Gupta, the informal nature encourages students to try new things and become “so much more comfortable fulfilling different needs in drama.”

The New Works Festival is also open to all grade levels, allowing underclassmen like freshman Nila Venkataratnam to highlight their work. 

“We just started, but I’m really excited because it’s my first time directing and, when I read the play, I was thrilled to see all that could be done with it because it’s super cute and can be widely understood,” Venkataratnam said. 

Because New Works features students in a more casual and avant-garde way, the showcase allows for enjoyment for anyone who attends.

“[Writing a play] was the funniest, coolest thing ever and so, New Works has always been the best memory for me,” Gupta said.