For a lot of students, drama is an easy-A taken to fill a class period.
But at Columbus Middle School, students in the drama program have created a dedicated community that is determined to succeed.
At the Mississippi Junior Thespian Festival Saturday in Pearl, 20 drama students from CMS brought home 27 superior ratings in various competition categories from costume construction and design to group musicals and monologues. The group beat the program’s previous record of receiving nine superior ratings.
On Monday, the students proudly wore their medals to school to celebrate their wins.
“Just knowing we were the first group at Columbus Middle School to ever reach that amount of superiors made me feel like I was special,” eighth-grader Zyla Harris said.
Drama teacher Chelsea Petty, who started the program in 2011, said she knew early in the fall how talented this year’s students are. They set a goal then to win at least 25 superiors, knowing it was lofty compared to the program’s previous record of nine.
“It was kind of said as a joke,” she said. “But it’s been the motivation.”
As for the students’ success, Petty said the group’s willingness to try new things is what sets them apart.
“They’re very, very passionate,” she said. “These are the kind of kids that when I say, ‘Hey, we’ve never competed in makeup design before, who would like to give it a try?’ They’re the ones that give it a try and come back with a medal in it.”
Eighth-grader Aaliya Moore, who received superiors in five separate categories, said preparing for this year’s festival was rewarding but difficult.
“Since I went for so many individual events … it was kind of hard to get through all of them,” she said. “So I had to kind of manage my time and make sure I could get all of them out and they still be well done.”
Eighth-grader Cameron Baldwin wasn’t sure whether he would compete in the costume construction category, knowing how much work it would take.
“I didn’t really want to do it at first,” he said. “Then I realized I needed to get over it because I can sew and not a lot of people do (that category). So I did it, and I ended up liking it.”
He started designing and constructing his costume back in June. His final product won him the highest score in the category and made him the first middle-schooler in the state to receive a superior rating in costume construction.
Petty said the students’ dedication goes far beyond one class period a day. Often rehearsals last past 7 p.m. and students can be found in the auditorium on weekends building sets or sewing costumes.
Several students chose to drop other extracurricular activities and classes like sports and choir to focus their time on excelling in theater.
Eighth-grader Markayla Davis said drama class has taught her about working hard to reach a goal, especially when it comes to putting on a play.
“We’re starting with (the musical) now and we’re going to perform it in April,” she said. “So it’s going to be a lot of practice, a lot of hard work and dedication to put on those amazing plays and everything backstage too.”
The group has several more projects to finish before the end of the year, including another competition in March where they will perform a one-act play called “Life and Death in the Hallway.” In April, they will perform “Frozen” for their spring musical.
Many of the eighth-graders hope to continue with theater in high school, but without a teacher to lead the CHS theater program, they’re worried this year may be the last one they spend performing.
“We’re working on it,” Petty said. “They’ve asked to go before the school board to request a high school drama teacher.”
For now, the students are looking forward to finishing up the year and winning more awards at their competition in March.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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