Story by Christianne Duley
Staff Writer
Photo by Sunny (Sunye) Choi
Staff Photographer
SPHS Drama is performing a ninth to tenth grade cabaret at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21 in the Little Theater. The single-act cabaret will showcase 16 songs and skits with masters of ceremonies conducting the show. Freshmen and sophomores will get the chance to showcase their singing and acting skills in the shows.
“A lot of talented kids get to show off their stuff,” Drama Instructor Nick Hoffa said. “It’s a nice, fun night where we get to revel in the talents of some of the younger Drama kids.”
The cabaret will feature 25 freshman and sophomore students singing and performing solos, duets, and ensembles, as well as potential improv and audience interaction. Songs include numbers from Mean Girls, Doki Doki Literature Club, and Tangled. Preparations for the show began shortly after the fall play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in November 2024. The young performers have individually and independently prepared their pieces, making each musical number original.
“The show is very student-directed,” Hoffa said. “This allows them a lot of independence and ownership over pieces. It’s always a new creation.”
The cabaret is a recent production, put on for the first time during the 2024 spring semester. Due to the acts being mostly student-chosen, each show will have a unique touch to it from the new freshmen and sophomores.
“It’s a chance for underclassmen to get to work on stage,” sophomore Claire Heyler-Erickson said. “The spring musical and fall play are mainly for juniors and seniors, but for this show we learn skills to perform and we get to perform with our friends.”
Juniors and seniors usually partake in other Drama productions, like the fall play and spring musical. Holding a cabaret specifically for freshmen and sophomores gives these less-recognized actors a show where they are the focus. It is an opportunity for younger students to gain experience for future plays and musicals, as well as to let them express themself with their original ideas and performances.
“It can be harder for freshmen and sophomores to get some of the bigger parts because the juniors and seniors have more experience and have been working for a long time,” Hoffa said. “This will produce students who are more confident, more comfortable being on the stage, and more able to own their individual abilities.”
Drama hopes the cabaret can be a recurring show that keeps on promoting freshmen and sophomore actors in the years to come.
“In the middle of last year’s cabaret, the seniors who didn’t have the chance to do this turned to me, saying, ‘I wish, when I was a ninth grader, we had this,’” Hoffa said. “Last year was a success and I hope this year is as well, so we can continue the tradition.”
Cabaret tickets are sold at the front door and are free for students with SAC cards and $10 for parents and students without.
