GCHS Drama Students "Make it Real"

Drama students in Laura Rebecca's Theater Arts class at Garden City High School were coaxed and cajoled to get in touch with their inner selves during two periods last month as they played theatrical games designed to develop improvisational performance skills.

The games were presented by John Mezzo, co-artistic director of The Most Happy Theatre Company, which performs locally at the Garden City Community Church. The games Mr. Mezzo chose were designed to encourage spontaneity. Each student had the opportunity to perform individually and in a group.

In the game "Goalie," participants deflected a statement that they had just heard, an exercise that encourages free association. In the game "Artists Model Clay," participants copied a pose taken by another participant they could not see, with directions provided nonverbally (no talking or touching permitted), an exercise that encourages actors to become comfortable with their only true instrument-the physical self. In the game "Hats and Prop," participants immediately related to a hat and another item. The exercise prompts action based on intuition rather than thought.

Mr. Mezzo's credits include two recent appearances at the Strawberry One-Act Festival held at The Riant Theatre in New York City, as well as many appearances in comedies, dramas, musical theatre, and stand-up comedy. His visit was an Arts-in-Education presentation, a program coordinated by the Arts-in-Education Committee of the Garden City School District Parent Teacher Association funded by the Garden City Union Free School District.

The Theatre Arts class is a full-year elective that satisfies the district's Art requirement and covers all aspects of theatre, from improvisation and scene study to stage makeup and play production.