PHS students who enjoy participating in one acts and the musical are finding some creative ways to continue practicing their acting skills.
Dominick Austin, 9th grader, has been looking for other auditions for shows this summer and practicing those audition materials.
“I’ve been practicing my singing a lot and with that my acting skills. Lately, I have been working on my facial emotions and expressions,” Dominick stated.
Dominick says it’s important to continue practicing because “it helps build up your skills so you can always be a better performer for the next show you do. As an actor the best thing you can do is to keep improving.”
Dominick doesn’t really have a schedule of when he practices; he tries to find time in his day to practice. “I work on certain skills whenever I feel like working on them, preferably singing in the shower.”
Griffin Wick, 11th grader, has been practicing with his script to keep up with his skills. “Some skills I have been practicing now that One Act Plays have been cancelled is memorization and being able to stay in character,” Griffin commented.
Griffin has also been contacting other high school actors through group chats and text messaging to stay in touch.
Ms. Corvera, Speech and Theatre teacher, said students could look at books, scripts, podcasts, videos, and social media notifications of online performances and classes to help aid in practicing.
“I’ve tried to share some sources through the Theatre Fun Activities and through our Twitter & Instagram,” Ms. Corvera stated.
From her perspective, Ms. Corvera believes that students should continue practicing because “it’s important to practice continued creativity, regardless of the content in which we choose to be creative. Creativity is an approach to thinking and producing; it’s embracing opportunity despite any perceived limits. It’s about not building ceilings for yourself. So practicing creativity, whether through theatre or other activities, will serve all of us well throughout our lives.”
Ms. Corvera also encouraged students to experiment: “Some of my favorite thoughts about practicing come from Leslie Odom Jr.’s book, Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning. Some of the ideas he presents are: ‘In what ways did you take charge of your creative self today? The work you do when no one is watching is far more important than the work you do when the cameras are rolling. Utilize the mirror as a means to teaching you how to self correct. Your mission is the exploration, you have permission to fail.’”

“I think this is more important now than ever because we can all participate as audience members, performers, creators, etc. despite being away from school,” Ms. Corvera explained.
Ms. Corvera challenges students to continue to explore their interests, to try new things or re-examine past creations, and give themselves permission to fail as they explore. “I think this mindset will help in all of our future endeavors, including the theatrical ones!”