Why we are opening VHS Drama to all…

With the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year brings with it a world of uncertainty for many people within the New Kensington-Arnold school district.  With the recent move by the district to reorganize the schools, we will see the 7th and 8th grades move from the former Valley Middle School to what is now being called Valley Jr./Sr. High School.  While these students are still considered junior high school students, their presence within the larger school community can not be ignored.

With this change comes an enormous opportunity for our organization to open the world of performing arts to a much larger base – both from a student-participation stand point and from an audience stand point.  But for now, let’s focus just on what inclusion in the Drama Club can mean for everyone.

Our group is all about inclusion – we have never turned away a student who wanted to participate in our theatre arts program, and do not intend to start that now.  Our decision was based solely on having a unique opportunity to expose more people to theatre than we have had in the past.  Since the reorganization of the VHS drama program in the late 1990’s, the drama club has given over 2,000 students the opportunity to experience the thrill of participating in a live performance, but as the years have gone on, the average number of students participating in the program has seen a steady decline.  How would you feel if you were in a school that had a program such as ours, but were told that because you were ‘too young’ you could not participate.  We don’t want any student to ever feel that they are not able to participate in something as wonderful, exciting and fulfilling as this.  And this year, we have expanded our program to once again present two shows, giving anyone who wants to participate the opportunity.

Let’s take a brief look at what benefits participating in a school theatre program has on students (thank you to the American Alliance for Theatre and Education for this information):

  • Students involved in drama performance coursework or experience outscored non-arts students on the 2005 SAT by an average of 65 points in the verbal component and 34 points in the math component
  • Drama activities improve reading comprehension, and both verbal and non-verbal communication skills
  • Drama helps to improve school attendance and reduce high school dropout rates
  • A 2005 Harris Poll revealed that 93% of the public believes that arts, including theatre, are vital to a well-rounded education
  • Drama can improve skills and academic performance in children and youth with learning disabilities

In our community, it is our responsibility to provide every opportunity for let our students shine.  Further, ‘since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, there has been a national focus on closing the “achievement gap” between students of varying abilities, socioeconomic status, and geographies among other factors that may directly or indirectly affect a student’s academic success.  The arts, including drama, address this issue by catering to different styles of learning, and engaging students who might not otherwise take significant interest in academics.  Additionally, research indicates that drama courses and performance have a particularly positive effect on at-risk youth and students with learning disabilities.

  • A study published in Champions of Change (1999) cites theatre arts, including performance, classes, and participation in a drama club, as a source for “gains in reading proficiency, gains in self-concept and motivation, and higher levels of empathy and tolerance towards others” among youth of low socio-economic status
  • Drama activities can improve and help to maintain social and language skills of students with learning disabilities and remedial readers
  • Improvisational drama contributes to improved reading achievement and attitude in disadvantaged students’

And if that isn’t enough, let’s take a look at the public opinion of arts, specifically drama, in our students’ education:

Statistics show that most of the public feels the performing arts play a significant role in our culture and communities and are important to America’s youth.  In 2002, the Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC) conducted surveys in 10 major metropolitan areas regarding the role of Performing Arts in their lives and communities . They discovered that at least 90 percent of respondents from each metropolitan area agreed or strongly agreed that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children. More than 60 percent of respondents in each location who had children aged 13 and older strongly agreed that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children.On average, just over half of respondents had attended a live theatre performance in the past year. According the to surveys in all 10 cities, live theatre is the most commonly attended type of performance.

According to a May 2005 Harris Poll :

  • 93 percent of Americans believe that the arts are essential to a complete education
  • 79 percent feel that the arts should be a priority in education reform
  • 79 percent consider the issues facing arts education to be significant enough to merit their personally taking action

So there you have it.  We want to continue to give our students every opportunity to shine, both on the stage and off, and we are thrilled to welcome this new group to our family, and we hope that all of our students from previous years who are still at VHS will continue to support and participate in our club.

We hope you agree – please come out and talk with us and see what is coming up for VHS drama this year when we have a meeting for all students and parents interested in joining our organization at 7:00 on September 15th in the VHS auditorium.  As always, your comments are welcome.

Announcing the 2014-2015 VHS Drama Club Season!

This year, we are happy to announce that we will once again be presenting fall and spring productions at VHS!  Our first show will be a murder mystery dinner theatre, ‘You Have The Right To Remain Dead’ to be presented on October 18, 2014 at the VHS Cafeteria.   In April, the VHS Drama Club is happy to announce that we will be presenting ‘Hairspray’, April 16-19, 2015!  Tickets for each show will go on sale one month prior to opening night.

You Have The Right To Remain Dead
October 18, 2014

You’ve just settled down in a theatre to solve an audience-participation murder mystery. The narrator comes out and gives you a few “ins and outs” on what to look for in the play. The show starts and you meet Fat Daddy, a rich but vindictive southern gentleman with an equally conniving and scheming family. So you know who’s going to die, right? But who will the murderer be? Will it be Sweet Mama, Daddy’s pandering wife; Hyacinth, the daughter who’s always cleaning the family firearms; Earl the worm, or his overly amorous wife, Savannah; or Clete, the sullen handyman who, for some reason, is in the will? Then Fat Daddy is discovered, dead as a hammer. Except the corpse isn’t Daddy’s, it’s the narrator’s! The director comes on stage and the police arrive. Now you have to figure out which of the actors murdered the narrator. And not only are you questioning the cast, but they are questioning you! Yes, you are a suspect as well! 

Hairspray
April 16-19, 2015

You can’t stop the beat in this big and bold musical about one girl’s inspiring dream to dance.

The 1950’s are out and change is in the air! HAIRSPRAY, winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, is a family-friendly musical piled bouffant high with laughter, romance, and deliriously tuneful songs.

It’s 1962 in Baltimore, and the lovable plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire — to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. She must use her newfound power to dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network, all without denting her ‘do!
Keep visiting our site to get more information about these upcoming shows!

Children of Eden DVDs

Good news!  The DVDs will be delivered to the office tomorrow morning!  Once we have them in hand, we will process them for shipping to everyone who ordered a copy of the show DVD!  You should have it by the weekend!  Sorry for the delay.

cake costume picture

Costume Rentals Available!

cake costume picture

Beauty and the Beast

Our wonderfully talented costume department has (literally) hand-crafted over 1,000 costumes for various shows over the years, and each of those costumes has been stored and is available for your organization to rent!

Shows available:

  • Children of Eden
  • Pippin (steampunk theme)
  • Willy Wonka
  • Seussical
  • Peter Pan
  • Wizard of Oz
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Cinderella
  • and many more!

Keep in mind that costumes from one show may also work for another, they don’t necessarily have to be specific to the show listed!

For more information about costume rentals from the VHS Drama Club, please visit our rental page here and fill out the contact form.  Once your form is submitted, someone from our organization will be in touch with you!

Click here for more info!

Did you know? Benefits of drama in education

Drama in Education: Proven beneficial to everyone

DRAMA IN EDUCATION: DID YOU KNOW …

  • Students involved in drama performance coursework or experience outscored non-arts students on the 2005 SAT by an average of 65 points in the verbal component and 34 points in the math component?
  • Drama activities improve reading comprehension, and both verbal and non-verbal communication skills?
  • Drama helps to improve school attendance and reduce high school dropout rates?
  • A 2005 Harris Poll revealed that 93% of the public believes that arts, including theatre, are vital to a well-rounded education?
  • Drama can improve skills and academic performance in children and youth with learning disabilities?

DRAMA IMPROVES ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between drama involvement and academic achievement. In addition to having higher standardized test scores than their peers who do not experience the arts, student who participate in drama often experience improved reading comprehension, maintain better attendance records, and stay generally more engaged in school than their non-arts counterparts. Schools with arts-integrated programs, even in low-income areas, report high academic achievement.

DRAMA STUDENTS OUTPERFORM NON-ARTS PEERS ON SAT TESTS
The College Entrance Examination Board reported student scores from 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005 using data from the Student Description Questionnaire indicating student involvement in various activities, including the arts. As compared to their peers with no arts coursework or involvement:

  • Students involved in drama performance scored an average of 65.5 points higher on the verbal component and 35.5 points higher in the math component of the SAT
  • Students who took courses in drama study or appreciation scored, on average, 55 points higher on verbal and 26 points higher on math than their non-arts classmates.
  • In 2005, students involved in drama performance outscored the national average SAT score by 35 points on the verbal portion and 24 points on the math section.

ATTENDANCE
Research indicates that involvement in the arts increases student engagement and encourages consistent attendance, and that drop-out rates correlate with student levels of involvement in the arts.

  • Students considered to be at high risk for dropping out of high school cite drama and other arts classes as their motivations for staying in school.
  • Students who participate in the arts are 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance than those who do not.

READING COMPREHENSION
From learning to read to the in-depth study of Shakespearean literature, drama can play a significant role in the continual development of students’ reading comprehension skills. Studies indicate that not only do the performance of a story and a number of other drama activities in the classroom contribute to a student’s understanding of the work performed, but these experiences also help them to develop a better understanding of other works and of language and expression in general. The results below were gleaned from studies where educators and students alike noticed a difference when drama played a part in their classrooms,

  • A series of studies on the arts and education revealed a consistent causal link between performing texts in the classroom and the improvement of a variety of verbal skills, including especially significant increases in story recall and understanding of written material.
  • Performance of Shakespeare texts helps to improve students’ understanding of other complex texts including science and math material.
  • Drama can improve reading skills and comprehension better than other activities, including discussion.

BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH DRAMA
In addition to building social and communication skills overall, involvement in drama courses and performance has been shown to improve students’ self-esteem as well as their confidence in their academic abilities.

  • High school students who are highly involved in drama demonstrate an elevated self-concept over those who are not involved .
  • Playwriting original works and dramatic presentation of existing works can help to build the self-esteem and communication skills of high school students.
  • The act of performing can help students and youth recognize their potential for success and improve their confidence .

BRIDGING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, there has been a national focus on closing the “achievement gap” between students of varying abilities, socioeconomic status, and geographies among other factors that may directly or indirectly affect a student’s academic success. The arts, including drama, address this issue by catering to different styles of learning, and engaging students who might not otherwise take significant interest in academics. Additionally, research indicates that drama courses and performance have a particularly positive effect on at-risk youth and students with learning disabilities.

  • A study published in Champions of Change (1999) cites theatre arts, including performance, classes, and participation in a drama club, as a source for “gains in reading proficiency, gains in self-concept and motivation, and higher levels of empathy and tolerance towards others” among youth of low socio-economic status .
  • Drama activities can improve and help to maintain social and language skills of students with learning disabilities and remedial readers .
  • Improvisational drama contributes to improved reading achievement and attitude in disadvantaged students .

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DRAMA
What does the average American think of drama? The statistics from the studies below show that most of the public feels the performing arts play a significant role in our culture and communities and are important to America’s youth.
In 2002, the Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC) conducted surveys in 10 major metropolitan areas regarding the role of Performing Arts in their lives and communities . They discovered that at least 90 percent of respondents from each metropolitan area agreed or strongly agreed that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children.More than 60 percent of respondents in each location who had children aged 13 and older strongly agreed that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children.On average, just over half of respondents had attended a live theatre performance in the past year. According the to surveys in all 10 cities, live theatre is the most commonly attended type of performance. According to a May 2005 Harris Poll :

  • 93 percent of Americans believe that the arts are essential to a complete education
  • 79 percent feel that the arts should be a priority in education reform
  • 79 percent consider the issues facing arts education to be significant enough to merit their personally taking action.
**This article is taken from a post written by the American Alliance for Theatre & Education.  For more information, please visit them here

Welcome to our new home!

Welcome to the new web home of the Valley High School Drama Club.  Over the next few months, we will be adding content and building up this site to give you the most up-to-date information from our organization.  Stay tuned, our first big post will be announcing TWO shows for next year!