PERFORMING ARTS: Poly’s theatre group prepares for their busiest year yet.
By Birdy Jones, Staff Writer
Although the year just began, theatre director Chris MarkerMorse intends to waste no time. While it is unusual to start production within the first two weeks of school, it is vital that Poly theatre does so.
Along with the early start, several other advances are being made in the world of Poly theatre. This year theatre director MarkerMorse has expanded the group to a total of 200 students, splitting theatre into six periods. This is the largest theatre group ever assembled at Poly High School.
When asked about his reasoning for the expansion, MarkerMorse stated: “At the end of last year, we knew that we had so many kids involved in the program. So we realized that we needed to do something, because we just weren’t meeting the needs of every kid.” Following this realization, MarkerMorse came up with the idea to work on two productions at the same time, with one directed by him and the other by Leesa Rankins.
Four-year theatre member Micaela Arias (12) responds positively to the expansion of theatre. “I definitely think that is a positive change, because with it we’re going to get a lot more people involved in theatre and a lot more people coming to watch the productions,” Arias said.
However, the increase of thespians is not the only change that Poly theatre is making this year. Theatre increased the amount of productions to four plays a season. This will be the largest number of productions that theatre has ever put on in a school year.
MarkerMorse admits that the most challenging aspect of these changes is communication between the two directors and the two crews. However, he feels that the problem is easily fixed by utilizing social media.
For Arias, the biggest challenge is not one of communication. “Right now we’re working on two plays at the same time, and people have to share the theatre classroom and the theatre, so it’s a lot more difficult practicing in the little theatre room for the musical,” Arias said. She appreciates the extra guidance: “Having two teachers is very rewarding because if one is busy, I can always talk to the other.”
With all of these new improvements, people are wondering what to expect from Poly’s theatre group this year. MarkerMorse has a clear goal: “Poly used to be the shining example of performing arts in the district, and we’re really wanting to bring that back. We want to be the central focus of what happens, not just in RUSD, but in Riverside as a whole.”