Drama Club holds picnic to ring in new season of theatre

Drama Club started off with a bang the afternoon of Friday, August 31 as students gathered on the OHS patio and picnicked to celebrate the beginning of a new season of theatre. Parents and students brought in food and the picnic began after the first Drama Club meeting ended at 5:30 pm.

Jared Taylor, the theatre teacher at OHS, thought that the picnic was a good way to “celebrate […] the start of what's going to be an amazing year.” He promised that this year’s Drama Club will be bigger than last year’s. “This year for Drama Club, we're changing things up and having workshops, guest speakers, and a bigger and better awards night at the end of the year.”

The excited atmosphere at the picnic was partly due to the many joyful reunions that took place as the new freshmen met friends they used to know from the drama program at C.W. Stanford Middle School. At the first Drama Club meeting, there were no freshmen from A.L. Stanback or Gravelly Hill Middle School. One sophomore, Nick Vassello, said that, “[What I liked most about the picnic was] getting to see my middle school friends that I left last year. I have missed them ever since.” A freshman, Mia Frenduto, agreed. She said, “My favorite part of the picnic was getting to see upperclassmen that I never see.” She joined theatre so that she could do what she loves to do with other people who share her interests. Meghan O’Shaughnessy, another freshman, also enjoyed meeting students she knew from Stanford. “It was great to spend time with old friends and meet new ones, all while talking about something I love.”

[caption id="attachment_126" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Maggie Cummings, Lauren Asbury, Anastasia Zitko, and Caleb Tolin hang out at the Drama Club Picnic."][/caption]

Food at the picnic included macaroni and cheese, Bojangles biscuits, fried chicken, doughnuts, brownies, and cookie cake. For drinks, students could choose from a wide variety of sodas. Some foods were snatched up quickly, like the Bojangles biscuits and cookie cake. Students who were near the end of the line waiting to get food grumbled when they saw that some of the food was already gone.

An impromptu birthday celebration for one of the juniors in Drama Club, Lauren Asbury, resulted in the distribution of more cake. The Drama Club sang “Happy Birthday” to Asbury and gave her hugs. After the celebration, the club took a group picture, capturing their festivities on film.