About SEP Drama

SEP Drama at Southeast Polk High School offers students a non-musical performance and technical theatre arts opportunity each Spring semester. Graduates of Southeast Polk have gone on to pursue performance and technical theatre arts at the post-secondary level and are using their talents as actors, directors, designers, and theatre administrators throughout the United States.

SEP Drama offers two unique programs:

• Mainstage Play Series: SEP Drama offers students a non-musical performance arts opportunity each Spring semester. Productions follow a rotating three-year cycle of comedy, drama, and classic theatre, exposing students to a wide range of theatrical styles and performance traditions. Through collaborative performance experiences, students develop creativity, confidence, communication skills, and a deeper understanding of storytelling and human connection. 

• Student-Directed Play Series: The SEP Speech & Drama Student-Directed Play Series allows students to assume all of the production team and performance roles in a fully-staged theatrical production. This play series runs May-June each school year. By taking full responsibility for the creative and logistical process, students strengthen leadership, communication, and decision-making skills while experiencing the collaborative artistry required to bring a production from concept to performance.

Southeast Polk Community School District, the 13th largest school district in Iowa, is comprised of Runnells, Altoona, Mitchellville, parts of Pleasant Hill, Bondurant, Des Moines, and surrounding rural areas. The district was formed by a consolidation of several districts in 1962 and now operates eleven attendance centers: a high school, middle school, sixth grade center, and eight elementary schools. The district is surrounded by a variety of recreational opportunities including the popular theme park, Adventureland, and the state’s only horse racing facility, Prairie Meadows. A myriad athletic and cultural opportunities are close by in the state capitol of Des Moines, and 11 colleges and universities are located within 35 miles of the district.

Built in 2008, Southeast Polk High School’s extensive and beautiful campus is the result of a nearly $60 million building project. Its state-of-the-art facilities, which serve a population of more than 2000 students, include a departmentalized layout with faculty work and office space, large athletic facilities, and a beautiful performing arts center. The school has been recognized for its excellence and achievement in academic, artistic, and athletic programming.