South Middle School launches first-ever theatre season
October 20, 2024 - Grants Pass Daily Courier
By Kathleen Alaks of the Daily Courier
With low grunts and occasional mumblings of the word “brains,” a horde of slow-moving, stiff-legged zombies chases four survivors through the cafeteria at South Middle School.
Some of the zombies are in torn jeans and stained T-shirts, some wear fishnet stockings full of holes, one is in a ragged prom dress and sneakers.
All of them sport various layers and colors of smudged makeup on their cheeks, lips, arms and foreheads.
After a couple passes around the room, director Jael Hanson calls for them to stop.
“Good work, zombies,” Hanson says, as she winds up this Thursday afternoon rehearsal of the newly formed and student-led South Middle School Theatre Club.
The club, which found its roots during the 2023-2024 school year, is about to launch its first-ever production, “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” by Don Zolidis.
The play runs Oct. 29-30 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5.
“They are so motivated to be able to perform for their school and their community. It gives me chills,” says Hanson, a special education teacher who is the club’s faculty adviser. She says it was the determination of a small group of students that set the club in motion.
After eighth grader Sicily Owens attended a theater camp with One Eleven Theatre Company, she knew she wanted to do more stage work. “It’s just really fun,” says Owens, the club president. She approached friends and teachers about forming a theater club. Hanson gave them direction.
But before staging a production, Hanson knew the students needed to learn some fundamentals of theater. They watched and discussed plays. They held makeup workshops, learned about stage management and about putting together sets and props and costumes. They also learned that putting on a play costs money and they spent much of last year holding fundraisers and gathering sponsorships.
“I didn’t know how much work it was,” Owens says.
Now, the club is ready to put on its first show. The club members read through a number of scripts that were recommended as suitable for middle schoolers. They chose “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” a silly, funny and fast-moving public service announcement about how to survive when civilization collapses and the animated corpses of your neighbors try to hunt you down and eat your flesh.
Two narrators, apparent zombie-survival experts, introduce a series of increasingly outrageous survival tips — from sacrifice the weak to run really fast to romance — which are then acted out by four survivors and a horde of zombies.
Elijah Rodriguez, an eighth grader, plays Sam, one of the survivors. “He’s a nerdy guy who likes to do kung fu,” Rodriguez says, “so I get to do some fighting. It’s pretty cool.”
The club’s spring production will be “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Your Teachers (but were afraid to ask)” by Jason Pizzarello.
“The students have worked hard to get to this point and their dedication and passion for theater shines through,” Hanson says. “I’m proud of them.”
Reach reporter Kathleen Alaks at 541-474-3815 or kalaks@thedailycourier.com.
