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Monta Vista Drama

Our Department!

Advanced or Honors

Acting

In advanced and Honors Acting you develop and hone your acting skills through games, exercises, play development, and performance. In the fall you will work with your ensemble to devise a production! In the spring, you will act in a scripted play. Between these productions, you will write and direct comedic sketches for MVSNL! 

 

Honors: If you take the course a second (or third) year, you are eligible to apply for Honors. As an Honors student, you will develop and execute a leadership-oriented Honors project to give back to the theater community (e.g. directing a Beginning Drama play, leading a technical theater initiative, teaching a theater skill in a series of lessons or workshops, etc.). 

In Advanced and Honors Stagecraft you’ll learn theoretical design skills and practical applied technical skills for the four primary areas of stagecraft: scenic (or set), costumes, lighting, and sound. Throughout the year you’ll do plenty of hands-on projects to build the tech components for our shows! If you take the class multiple years in a row, your technical projects will become more advanced and you will get the opportunity to design a tech area for one of our school productions. 

 

Honors: If you take the course a second (or third) year, you can apply for Honors. As an Honors student you will develop and execute a leadership-oriented Honors project to give back to the theater community (e.g. directing a Beginning Drama play, leading a technical theater initiative, teaching a theater skill in a series of lessons or workshops, etc.).

Beginning Drama

In Beginning Drama you’ll be introduced to the vast and wonderful world of theater! You’ll learn the basics of acting, get introduced to some principles of technical theater, and gain appreciation for the history of world theater as it relates to the present moment. There are plenty of opportunities to play games and develop fun short plays and projects working with your ensemble of new best friends.

Interested? Join us today!

About Our Department

Director's Statement

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Welcome to the Monta Vista Theater Department, where every student on campus can have a home. Theater is an art form that turns practical, challenging, academic skills into play. Students come to theater to have fun and find community; while they are here they develop skills in areas including public speaking, writing, math and engineering, construction and building, visual arts, presentation and advertising, management and scheduling, project planning and implementation, and more. Students who master an area of theater master skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives – skills that enhance social-emotional development and academic career readiness. Everyone can join the department; no matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, whether you have zero theater experience or have been acting in plays since pre-school, we want you! We only ask that you follow our values: collaboration, revision, risk, and respect. Let’s see what amazing things we can create together! 

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- Hannah Gould, Director of Monta Vista Drama

Our Alumni

Testimonials

Drama is pretty great! But don't just take our word for it!!

Take a look at what our amazing capable alumni have to say about it:

“Being a part of Monta Vista’s drama department was definitely the highlight of my high school experience. I’d always thought that performing was my main interest, but MV Drama’s emphasis on exploring uncharted disciplines helped me grow into a leader as I served as a director, producer, writer, crew member, and Marketing Lead during my time. I’ve built the most incredible community throughout my four years and 11 productions with the department that has pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me a more confident person that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I am so excited to be taking parts of this department with me to college and beyond!”

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Jiya Singh

Monta Vista Class of 2023 and is attending the University of California, Los Angeles for theatre. 

Aaron Chang

Monta Vista Class of 2023 and is currently attending the University of Southern California for architecture.

"Drama, very much in character, dramatically entered from stage right and made itself feel comfortable for 4 years. Now as negative as that may sound, I welcomed it into my life with open arms. Despite not having the energy of a stereotypical theater kid, the drama department not only made me feel welcome but like a valued member. Over these 4 years, I have dabbled in multiple tech departments (set, lights, sound) and have taken on leadership roles in all three. Only in the Monta Vista drama department was I given so many opportunities and so much trust from everyone. This allowed me to grow both as a technician and as a person. As sad as I am to see drama exit stage left from my life, I look back fondly at my time in the department and would do it all over again if I had the chance.”

Got any questions?

Really. Ask us anything.

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