Miller Middle School’s Drama Elective: Course Information

From Jason Oncay, the Drama Teacher:  At the close of the last production, Twinderella, I knew that we had something special.  We had taken a smaller program and invested our hearts into something new and growing.  We sought out help from our community in the way of funding and made something significant.  After nearly selling out our two evening performances, audiences responded and students reflected.  Here’s what they are saying about the show and the class.

Student testimonials, about the class and Twinderella:

I have enjoyed every moment of Drama, especially making so many friends and having that sense of teamwork and unity.  Seeing my classmates actually gave me confidence around school, especially because I was new this year.  I’ve created so many personal jokes, memories, and experiences for myself that I would be willing to live every moment again just to have that satisfaction.

I will remember all of my friends the most.  I made countless friends while creating this show, and I will miss them all forever.  I’m glad we were really able to connect and make a “family.”

I will never forget the closing night of our performance and me throwing my hat into the audience.  At that moment, I realized that was our last day of performing together.

There are so many things I will remember, like our play “Twinderella” and the two nights we performed the show.  I’ll remember the first and last day of the semester.  But of all the memories, the most crucial to me are the ones of my peers, teacher, and everyone who was in the class or worked as part of the class, the ones who made this Drama semester the most memorable.  Even the audience counts!

I will remember the strong bonds I’ve made.  The reason I signed up for drama is because I wanted to be a part of a close-knit group of people.  That is exactly what happened.  I have grown closer to so many people, and I’m thankful for that.

I will forever remember Drama with not only the hilarious memories and inside jokes, but the cast and crew.  We all bonded, and even if we bickered, we would all laugh it off in the end.  Drama is and will forever be my favorite subject.

I will remember the technical aspect of a play.  I was in the tech crew, and I never knew there would be so much behind the scenes.  We had to make diagrams of the sets and paintings, build platforms, clocks, chairs, and part for props.  We made things with wood and other materials.  I will take these teachings and memories into the future.

I will remember learning from successes and failures with all my friends.  I will remember the “pain” of memorizing lines and mostly the adrenaline from being on stage.  I can’t wait to join again next year!

Audience emails about Twinderella:

I like both the script/story and the acting. It is a smart and hilarious performance. The students played their roles naturally.

Every part of it was great! The students were superb. My grandchildren came, and even the 8 yr. old laughed at the jokes. We all enjoyed it very much.

I really was pleasantly surprised by the acting ability of several of the performers at the middle school level. I loved the humor in the show and the twist on the classic fairy tale (I am a huge fairy tale/fable fan) – great script.

I loved the enthusiasm of the actors and the joy they brought to the audience. The script was incredibly humorous and the actors nailed the timing of the jokes. Great job all around!

It was definitely the backdrops and the stage props. At first I was amazed that middle school students did all that and later found out Mr. Oncay’s father did help w/ it as well.

Final word from Mr. Oncay: Drama is courage and creativity.  It challenges a student to know herself/himself well enough to become another character, to connect with people in the class like any family should, and to be a part of a production with memories to last a lifetime.  Students will practice improvisation games, projection, articulation, disciplined acting technique as well as random silly behavior.  Some projects include formal scriptwriting, Reader’s Theater, and a major production with weeks of rehearsal and evening performances on the Miller Stage.