Photo by Annie Gavin on Unsplash
By Ashton LeVasseur-Mason
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a threat to normal life, activities once taken for granted have had to be drastically altered or outright cancelled in lieu of preventing infection. This extends to school systems around the country, and the many subjects taught within these systems. Virtual learning has become normal for many school children of all ages, including the students at Oak Harbor High School taking Drama classes. These classes include both Drama I and II, which are similar classes with slight differences. The main difference being that Drama II is graded more harshly than Drama I as the expectation is that students within the class are more familiar with the dramatic arts.
As a result of the classroom and stage being digital, a majority of the curriculum had to change, such as the axing of in-person rehearsal and theatre-based games to build camaraderie among students. One of the more popular warm-up games was Zip Zap Zoom, as game that entailed passing an invisible force throughout the room, building focus and energy.
On this, head of the Drama department Melissa Gibson mentioned that she, “was devastated by the sacrifices that needed to be made for safety reasons, but I still have hope that we can come back to all of the fun things we used to do in class in a quick manner.” On top of the cancellation of in-person activities in class, the extracurricular drama club also had to be axed in light of the pandemic. The club met Thursdays, and meetings typically consisted of planning future school performances and engaging in same theatre games that were played in class. Gibson was similarly disheartened by the cancellation of drama club, noting that “Drama club was one of my favorite parts of the job, and it was an incredible amount of fun to be able to oversee it until now. I sincerely hope that I can find some way to bring it back in the near future.”
In spite of these sacrifices, opportunities for interaction and participation in the art of drama are still present through Zoom meetings. Within these meeting students get to interact with each other, and participate in modified games and performances, as well as viewing presentations on the history and craft of the dramatic arts. Gibson’s sadness about the state of schools is common among teachers, but the hope for a more normal future where the activities of old can be enjoyed once again.
