This is part of a series of blogs from Noble campus representatives to give a deeper look at campus life.
“Drama gives you something you’ve never felt before. It gives you the opportunity to be the person you want to be deep inside.”
– A sophomore at Baker College Prep
Confidence. Creativity. Teamwork. Empathy.
These are values in every class of Drama at Baker that are explored and practiced.
Bobcat Drama’s focus is to help every scholar grow in their own self-confidence and voice and honor their own creative self. How can an individual be seen and see humanity through creative arts? Every recitation and lesson is rooted in the students’ own connection and growth.
Drama has been an elective at Baker College Prep since 2017. Scholars engage in stage movement, vocals, pantomime, improvisation, and character development. In Advanced Drama, scholars engage in technical and design elements, directing, auditioning, and playwriting which ends in the production of their very own 10-minute play.
Baker students performing and engaging in various drama activities over the years:
“Drama class meant creative freedom in a school that didn’t give that to us at the time. It allowed me to be myself and tap into my creative nature while engaging with others,” Bryjon, a Noble alum from the Class of 2019, said.
Bryjon and his class were among the first to take Drama at Baker. They performed two-person scripted scenes, improvised scenes, created silent scenes, and wrote their own monologues.
Another past Drama scholar, Shardaja, Class of 2019, was also deeply invested in the class.
“Drama class isn’t about an ACT test but rather a chance to discover the ability to manipulate and toy with emotions. In Drama class, you learn to connect your mind with your emotions and, the more you work on your ability, the better it gets! You begin to develop emotional security and the ability to UNDERSTAND your emotions,” Shardaja said about the class, “Once you access your emotions from a logical/mental standpoint, you can also use it as a tool to help you release any emotion you need to.”
She said that Drama class was helpful for her to manage her emotions when school counseling wasn’t the right path for her.
A video of various activities, skits, and monologues that Baker College Prep drama students have done.
Many current Drama students agree with both Bryjon and Shardaja about how it helps you understand emotions and express yourself. Take a look at what some of them had to say about the class:
Baker Sophomores Geovana & Carolina Share About Their Drama Class Experience
Q: Why do you love Drama?
Geovana (G): “When I first started high school, I was really shy and socially awkward. Being in drama class, acting and performing have really taken me out of my bubble.”
Carolina (C): “I love drama because you can act; you feel a lot of emotions in the scripts and what the character is feeling. It could be something you can’t show in your own feelings because you don’t want to, but you can show it through the character’s feelings.”
Q: What project stood out to you the most in Drama and why?
G: “The first time we had to perform in front of people. It was my first time and everyone was like ‘I didn’t know you could be so loud’… that made me feel a bit awkward but thankful because it was something I never heard before. I was playing a character that lashed out. I’ve always been told I’m really quiet but, when I yelled, I didn’t expect to be so loud. Drama gives you something you’ve never felt before. It gives you the opportunity to be the person you want to be deep inside.”
C: “Freeze (an improvisation activity) because you see other stuff that people are doing and see other ways to go about what you’re trying to be. There are other ways to learn and show people. It helps us express and practice our creativity.”
Q: How do you use what you learned in Drama in your own life?
G: “Be more expressive and extroverted.”
C: “Show our true feelings to ourselves, because sometimes what you feel can be put into the character’s feelings and it’ll be like you’re using your own feelings when you act out the characters.”
Geovana and Carolina are also in Drama Club, which is an extracurricular activity after school. They are performing with others in Baker’s rendition of, “A Christmas Carol” before we go on holiday break! Make sure to keep an eye on Baker’s social media profiles to see how the performance goes:
