Drama
Lake Ridge Academy Proudly Presents:
Little Shop of Horrors
February 26th, 27th and 28th
7:30 p.m.
Bettcher Convocation Center
From Middle School on, our students study improv, employ the methodologies of Stanislavski and Viola Spolin, and emulate the moves of great Broadway choreographers and directors like Bob Fosse. They analyze plays, learn to direct full-length productions for different types of theaters and, in the case of one student schooled in stage lighting, became master electrician for an all-Ohio play of Dead Man Walking. Our students also have the ideal venues in which to perfect all of this. Our campus is home to a black box theater and The Bettcher Convocation Center, which houses a proscenium stage and a state-of-the-art sound system.
The Middle School puts on a production every year and the Upper School puts on two, recently to high acclaim. David and Lisa, the first Lake Ridge Academy theatre production to be adjudicated for the State Thespian Conference, was selected for a full performance at the 2008 event.
We have a troupe of the International Thespian Society, an organization that honors student excellence in theater arts. Our troupe has 21 members – a significant number for a school of our size.
We also make the arts as concrete as possible for our students. For example, Wendall Hinkle, the location scout for “My Name is Earl” recently did a presentation on his profession, and Dan Knechtges, Tony Award nominated Broadway choreographer, did a Q&A with students about dance, the creative life, and how one forges a career in the arts. And after attending the National Broadway Touring Company’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 20 Upper Schoolers engaged in a master class with Katie Boren, the dance captain of that show.
