On October 25th 2024, Dr Parker’s Intro theatre class periods 2 and 4 had their first performance of ‘Las Soladeras’.
Las Soladeras is a play highlighting the perspective of the women soldiers of the Mexican Revolution, and the complexities of betrayal, trauma and love that women experience in war.
When asking Dr Parker if her expectations for these performances were met she explains that they were. “I expected it to be rough around the edges” Said Dr Parker, She explains that the results from the students were anticipated, with them having only 2 months of work and rehearsals, but there were still moments of talent and promise with the new students.
“I was very excited about the kids in an intro class having the guts to put themselves out there, acting wise and behind the scenes” Said Dr Parker
Dr Parker states how she was pleasantly surprised with the commitment with the crew. She explains how crew members of past productions didn’t feel their role was important and did not prioritize their work.
However, in this production Dr Parker expressed how committed this production’s crew was. An example and special mention she presented the wardrobe team. She talks about how the students spent most of their time creating skirts for the actors, and on the day of the performance they arrived at school early in order for the costumes to be completed by show time.
When asked what she would do differently with future performances from an intro class, she states that this play showed her that students in the class are prepared to put on a show right away.
“I’m gonna repeat what I did this year. Doing a play right off the bat.” Dr Parker
She explained after this show, she will no longer wait 7-8 months before having her intro class put on a performance. Something that stood out to Dr. Parker was the leadership of Juniors and Seniors in the classes, specifically two seniors who directed the performances.
“It was a lot, putting all the puzzle pieces together was a lot. But in the end we had an amazing performance experience for both classes.” said Dr Parker.
Written by Samantha R., Staff writer