Briarcliff High School theatre students are not only talented on the stage – they are creative writers as well. Students have been working over the past few weeks to create short skits which will be performed in conjunction with Katonah Classic Stage (KCS),a local theatre company.
The performance, called “Page to Stage,” features original scenes that are written and performed by Briarcliff students in Introduction to Theatre class with Jamie Mandel and the Bear Bones Theatre Club, of which she is the advisor.
According to Tally, a freshman in the Introduction to Theatre Class, the students honed their craft from the beginning of the year.
“Early in the year, we did activities like stage combat, where we learned different types of attacks on stage, like slaps, which was a lot of fun,” she said. “We also did improv, where we played games and built characters, and we each also did a monologue.”
These activities prepared the students for their upcoming performance, which is open to the public and is a part of KCSSpring productions. It is directed by Mandel and produced by KCS Artistic Director Trent Dawson.
Each student in the class or club wrote at least one skit.
“I wrote a scene from a family dinner where the oldest sister, who is sort of the ‘golden child,’ comes back from college and finds out that her younger brother knows that she has a boyfriend, when she is not supposed to be dating,” Tally said. “He tries to blackmail her, and she tries to protect her secret.”
Miranda, a sophomore and a member of the Bear Bones Theatre Club, wrote a comedic skit about street racing and cowboys.
“The skit involves a tractor, which was newly invented at the time that the story takes place,” she said. “The main character wants to prove to the people who are car racing that she is not their enemy. In the end she realizes that she doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
The performance will have about one dozen very different types of stories.
“All of the subjects are varied and random, without one common theme,” Miranda said.
“The theater crowd is very colorful, so when you put everyone together and let them run wild and write whatever they want, you get a lot of diversity,” Tally added. “I hope the publiccomes; it’s fun, a lot of the skits are funny, and the ideas are unique and interesting.”
Miranda agrees.
“People should go see the performance because it will be very entertaining,” she said. “Just because we are kids, it doesn’t mean we can’t be good writers. Some of what we have written is really good!”
Page to Stage will take place on March 24 at 7 pm in the Whippoorwill Hall Theatre at North Castle Library in Armonk. There is a $10 suggested donation.
