By Lia Bergin
Pioneer already boasts two acting classes and an active theater program, yet this year students will be able to take a theater production or screenwriting class, which is the first time that Pioneer students can be taught about theater production or screenwriting specifically.
In the theater production class, students learn about everything from set design to producing a show. “The students are getting to know everything behind-the-scenes,” said Quinn Strassel, the theater production teacher and co-sponsor of PTG.
However, like most new classes, theater production is facing issues with drawing interest from the student body; the current number in the class being 5 students. “The class was not too publicized, but I was shocked that my whole class consisted of just 5 people,” said Jessie Gott, a senior in the theater production class. “I understand people have different interests but I really thought more people would take the class.”
Strassel attributes the low number of students to a scheduling issue. “Theatre production was scheduled for 6th hour and we had more students signed up for it,” said Strassel. “Yet that’s when I teach about Community High School and so it was moved to 3rd hour with less kids who could switch over.”
The screenwriting class focuses on writing screenplays, yet also touches base on teaching what makes movies appeal to audiences. “We talked about what makes a movie good and what makes an audience want to watch a movie,” said Lyanne Yeh, a sophomore in the screenwriting class. “In screenwriting, you have to take into account the angles, where the camera moves, and how to tell a story through a lense… I feel like it’s very different [from playwriting].”
Alex Leydenfrost, the screenwriting teacher at Pioneer, performing arts teacher at Tappan, and co-sponsor of PTG, says that taking a screenwriting class will apply to kids without theater interests as well. “I think [the classes] are beneficial whether you want to write screenplays or not,” said Leydenfrost. “It’s going to help you become a better writer, communicator, and storyteller. That skillset applies to anything you do in life.”
Strassel also notes that this is only the beginning for increasing the theater classes in Pioneer. “We talked about creating a theater design class… eventually we might like to offer a musical theater class,” he said.
Strassel hopes that having a theater class could also help with reaching out to students who cannot participate in PTG due to prior commitments. “There are so many kids in our school that cannot do PTG because they have extracurriculars that conflict... I want all students to feel that they have access to theater,” said Strassel. “These classes are essential if you want to pursue a career in theater but, in weird way, they are as essential for somebody who isn’t thinking about that.”
Gott agrees that having theater classes will help reach out to kids without theater interests. “Many people think that they can’t do theater for various reasons,” she said. “Taking a theater class would give students an opportunity to learn about it in a less competitive environment.”
Adding these classes will help to increase theater opportunities for every student. “We recognize that Sean Sabo has a really excellent series of acting classes and we didn’t want to change anything about that,” Strassel said. “Alex Leydenfrost and I, who are both working with the theater guild now, wanted to see what we could add... there are so many opportunities for leadership and creativity that you can apply to the rest of your life. I’ve been looking forward to teaching a class like this.”
Pioneer already boasts two acting classes and an active theater program, yet this year students will be able to take a theater production or screenwriting class, which is the first time that Pioneer students can be taught about theater production or screenwriting specifically.
In the theater production class, students learn about everything from set design to producing a show. “The students are getting to know everything behind-the-scenes,” said Quinn Strassel, the theater production teacher and co-sponsor of PTG.
However, like most new classes, theater production is facing issues with drawing interest from the student body; the current number in the class being 5 students. “The class was not too publicized, but I was shocked that my whole class consisted of just 5 people,” said Jessie Gott, a senior in the theater production class. “I understand people have different interests but I really thought more people would take the class.”
Strassel attributes the low number of students to a scheduling issue. “Theatre production was scheduled for 6th hour and we had more students signed up for it,” said Strassel. “Yet that’s when I teach about Community High School and so it was moved to 3rd hour with less kids who could switch over.”
The screenwriting class focuses on writing screenplays, yet also touches base on teaching what makes movies appeal to audiences. “We talked about what makes a movie good and what makes an audience want to watch a movie,” said Lyanne Yeh, a sophomore in the screenwriting class. “In screenwriting, you have to take into account the angles, where the camera moves, and how to tell a story through a lense… I feel like it’s very different [from playwriting].”
Alex Leydenfrost, the screenwriting teacher at Pioneer, performing arts teacher at Tappan, and co-sponsor of PTG, says that taking a screenwriting class will apply to kids without theater interests as well. “I think [the classes] are beneficial whether you want to write screenplays or not,” said Leydenfrost. “It’s going to help you become a better writer, communicator, and storyteller. That skillset applies to anything you do in life.”
Strassel also notes that this is only the beginning for increasing the theater classes in Pioneer. “We talked about creating a theater design class… eventually we might like to offer a musical theater class,” he said.
Strassel hopes that having a theater class could also help with reaching out to students who cannot participate in PTG due to prior commitments. “There are so many kids in our school that cannot do PTG because they have extracurriculars that conflict... I want all students to feel that they have access to theater,” said Strassel. “These classes are essential if you want to pursue a career in theater but, in weird way, they are as essential for somebody who isn’t thinking about that.”
Gott agrees that having theater classes will help reach out to kids without theater interests. “Many people think that they can’t do theater for various reasons,” she said. “Taking a theater class would give students an opportunity to learn about it in a less competitive environment.”
Adding these classes will help to increase theater opportunities for every student. “We recognize that Sean Sabo has a really excellent series of acting classes and we didn’t want to change anything about that,” Strassel said. “Alex Leydenfrost and I, who are both working with the theater guild now, wanted to see what we could add... there are so many opportunities for leadership and creativity that you can apply to the rest of your life. I’ve been looking forward to teaching a class like this.”