Friday, November 25, 2016

Theatrical Production Pride

Today's post is from MWHS Assistant Theater Director and math teacher Meagan Lenz

Ever since I began teaching at the high school in the fall of 2008, I have found so many reasons to be proud to be a White Hawk. One of my biggest sources of pride, however, comes from serving as the assistant director for both the fall musical and the spring play for the past fifteen theatrical productions at MWHS. I say this so often, but there really is nothing quite like watching my theatre students grow from young eighth or ninth graders experiencing their first production to confident senior leaders who are exploring their characters like never before, tackling challenge music in the pit orchestra, or navigating the ins and outs of the technical elements of each show. I also feel such an extreme amount of pride in those students who decide to jump outside of their comfort zone and try something new for the first time - even if that means taking on their first role onstage as a senior!

Meagan with Emma & Joey
  
This year’s fall musical, “The Pirates of Penzance,” was one of the most challenging pieces that we have decided to produce at MWHS! The amount of music the cast and pit orchestra had to learn and perform was tremendous, but every single student rose to the challenge. The result of their dedication and hard work was an extremely polished and impressive production. I am already looking forward to start our work on the spring play!

The Pirates of Penzance Cast and Pit Orchestra

I also wanted to take a moment to again thank the Westonka Community for their dedication to all of our performing artists and athletes as we look forward to opening our new Performing Arts Center and Westonka Activities Center in the fall of 2018. I was so fortunate to serve on the committee of staff, school board and community members that toured facilities around the metro area this summer, and it is so energizing and exciting to know that very soon our students - who deserve only the very best - will soon have the very best! The opportunities the new Performing Arts Center will provide to current and future White Hawks are innumerable, so once again, thank you Westonka!

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