Bella Cedillo figures she’d probably go home and take a nap after school if it weren’t for Coupeville High School’s drama club.
“I do drama because it’s something to do after school,” said Cedillo, a senior. “I think it’s a better outlet than sports are. Drama gives you more opportunities to show who you are.”
Cedillo is part of Coupeville’s Wolf PAC Theatre Troupe, which meets after school to prepare for the latest school play.
These days, the students are rehearsing for the light comedy “Swing Fever,” which will take place at 7 p.m. on March 6, 7, 13 and 14 in the school’s performing arts center.
Less than two weeks until showtime, Peg Tennant, the school’s drama advisor, was wondering if a little fever had crept into Monday night’s rehearsal.
“It’s clear that lines are an issue,” she told the cast during a break in rehearsals.
Coupeville’s Troupe is made of about 25 students who enjoy the camaraderie and support that members offer each other.
By the time production rolls around for this play, the cast of 14 is confident that forgotten lines will be a thing of the past.
They have each other to offer encouragement.
Transfer student Nick Blaloch said he felt welcome immediately by the drama group. The sophomore moved to Coupeville from Adairsville, Ga., earlier this month.
“Everyone’s nice and inviting,” Blaloch said.
He tried drama in Georgia earlier this school year for the first time since elementary school and was surprised how it brought out his personality.
“I really doubted myself,” he said.
Blaloch plays an acting part in a play written by Esther E. Olson that carries a Cinderella-like theme.
The main character, Alexander Norris, played by junior Jarrett Compton, portrays a high school student who attends a spring dance against his father’s wishes but goes in disguise wearing a mask and his dad’s suit.
As it turns out, Norris dances with a glamorous movie star, who winds up wanting to cast him as a dance partner in one of her movies but doesn’t know his identity.
The stern father, a dean of a college, played by junior Sebastian Wurzrainer, ends up being the subject of the search after a strand of his suit pants is found caught on a nail.
“It’s kind of a Cinderella story that involves dancing,” junior Miranda Kortuem said.
And with dancing comes a lot of practice and encouragement.
“Performing in front of people is not easy to do,” said Scott Davis, the set designer whose son, Sebastian Davis, plays the role of grandpa.
Cedillo said drama students tend to be a close-knit group, closer than she’s experienced in other after-school activities.
“You feel more connected,” she said. “You have more people who are needed to be supported by you.”
