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By Nora Marsh
Courtney Tolino is the new drama advisor at Pen Argyl, she is changing the program. Alongside that it will be the first year they will be performing for the freddy awards.
The Drama Club has been around for 4 years. This year they are acting out Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief. Which was selected by the students with a large group vote.
Photo Courtesy Courtney Tolino
The Drama Club running through their show at one of their many after school practices.
They have been working hard rehearsing since Mid-November, they have until March 20th going to the 22nd.
This is Tolino’s first year as the drama director. She wanted to take this role because she wanted to make sure that the drama program continued due to the other advisors leaving.
She believes the hardest part of being the director is it being new for her. She has no prior experience acting but she did own a non-profit theatre company. She had various shows and even some Broadway singers go there.
Tolino is very adamant on letting the students take charge. She wants them to be leaders and have a lot of creative input in the production. They are able to make their own kinda choreography and let them make the characters their own while staying under her guidance.
There are about 25 people, around 10 are acting with the rest of the stage crew in the background with lighting, music, makeup, costumes and more.
They are participating in the Freddies this year, their mission is to recognize and reward exceptional accomplishments in the production and performance of musical theatre in high schools in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania, and Warren County, New Jersey.
Some bigger schools like Bangor, Freedom, Parkland and Notre Dame Green Pond have been participating in these awards for a few years.
Pen Argyl Drama sees this as a huge opportunity and accomplishment to be competing against other schools and showing the region what the small town high school is capable of.
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