Clarke Central High School Drama Club members rehearse the One Act play, “Elephant’s Graveyard” on Sept. 12 in the E.B. Mell Auditorium. Rehearsals began in August and the play will be performed from Oct. 19-21 at CCHS. “I wanted to do something that could be fun for the students, but also tells a story (that) really happened. It’s a big cast and I felt like we had great members. It was a match between a good show and good people to be in the show,” Drama Club Coordinator and fine arts department teacher Kayla Griffin said. Photo by Aza Khan
The Drama Club rehearses for their latest play, “Elephant’s Graveyard”.
The Clarke Central High School Drama Club, which consists of 25 students, is preparing for their latest play, “Elephant’s Graveyard,” for the statewide One Act competition on Oct. 25 at Heritage High School in Conyers.
A One Act Competition consists of drama clubs from eight different schools within a region who perform their play for judges to grade, with only the top four clubs placing. CCHS Drama Club Coordinator and fine arts department teacher Kayla Griffin, who is directing the play, believes that rehearsing for One Act will be the key to the club’s success.
“You perform how you practice. If you have assets, that’s what I’m gonna see on stage. Preparation really fixes everything because I feel like a lot of times people get the most nervous when they know they’re unprepared.” Griffin said. “Getting them prepared, and also making sure I’m in the right state of mind, is how we overcome (those obstacles),”
Griffin chose the play “Elephant’s Graveyard”, which follows a circus elephant and the trouble it causes in the local community, as well as how the townsfolk lash out at the elephant. Griffin wanted to put on a play that grabs the judges attention while also illustrating a tragic story.
“I knew I wanted to do something that lived in a fantasy world, and while this is actually a true story, I always tell my students, ‘Sad stories win One Act’ because the heart-wrenching pieces are what really gets the judges’ attention,” Griffin said.
“I knew I wanted to do something that lived in a fantasy world, and while this is actually a true story, I always tell my students, ‘Sad stories win One Act’ because the heart-wrenching pieces are what really gets the judges’ attention.”
— Kayla Griffin,
CCHS Drama Club Coordinator and fine arts department teacher
To prepare for the competition and improve the club’s performance, Griffin works with team members to build confidence in their acting abilities and further connect to their characters.
“When you’re acting with a script in your hand, it’s kind of hard to put your all in it. The preparation we’re doing is a lot of character development, because it’s a very storyteller-esque show,” Griffin said.
Not all Drama Club members are on stage. For Assistant Stage Manager Susannah Holbrook-Hill, who works to help the club from behind the scenes, One Act requires a larger group effort.
“It’s certainly a lot, but (the Drama Club) does have our technical directors come with us to the One Act competition,” Holbrook-Hill said. “We also have a run crew that helps get things on and off stage. They’re pretty much our assistants backstage, and while it is a lot, we have a ton of time to work on it. With practice, it gets to be much easier.”
