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A Pause on the Fall Play for 2025-2026
Upon reflecting on this upcoming school year, the directing team decided that it would be in our best interest to put a pause on the Fall Play. We have loved our time creating in the fall, but the stress surrounding this particular production drove us to go in a different direction for this school year.
Columbia students are really involved. We love this about them! But, we must admit that during the fall, it proves to be very difficult. Last year, 70% of our cast also participated in a Fall Sport. Rehearsals were often frustrating with students missing or splitting time for other things. We are hoping that a pause on the fall play would provide them some relief, go enjoy those other fall activities that you love!
Splitting time in the gym can be highly difficult in the fall. We are very lucky to have Jason Ward who gets us the time we need, but we know we are taking time away from athletics who also need the space. We take as little time as possible, which proves challenging for our students who are new to performing. Our crew students also suffer from this, as they cannot practice their tech passes as much as they would like.
As most of you have probably noticed, Ms. Dzielski is very busy. People often lump together Choir and Drama, because she runs both programs, but they are not the same. Ms. Dzielski has worked extremely hard to build up the Choir program, and it is steadily growing. She found herself slowly getting burnt out by going from production to production with the drama program as well as working as a full time Choir Director. By having some time in the fall, she is looking forward to giving the Choral Program the undivided attention it so deserves.
We believe that our students are ready to take the next step in their theater journey: becoming a cohesive program. During the fall of 2025-2026, drama will be offering weekly meetings on Thursdays to work on the artist as a whole. We do not want students to exist within our shows, but we want them to come up with their own artistic identity outside of productions. There will be workshops & rehearsals geared towards cast, crew, and pit, allowing for greater unity between the students involved in our program. We will also be offering a student leadership committee to help us with recruitment, retention, and the overall well-being of our students. Please join us for our informational meeting on September 10th at 7PM in the High School Cafeteria to learn more!
Samantha Dzielski, Director
Miah Montesano, Assistant Director
Sharon Metivier, Vocal Director
Jackie O’Donnell, Technical Director
Lukas Helwig, Pit Director
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