Seward High School is holding its first theater production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this weekend.
Meegan Miller was hired in January as the drama advisor at the school of about 130 students. She said Seward hasn’t had a drama department for more than two years, because of COVID-19 and budget cuts.
“I came in essentially as a coach to get a play going on,” she said.
Miller has been working with 12 Seward High and homeschooled students on a comedic adaptation of Cinderella since January. She said in addition to staging scenes and rehearsing lines, they’ve had to completely update the theater, too.
"It had been kind of used as a storage unit for the last two-and-a-half years or more, because they couldn't perform in it," Miller said. "We dusted it off and cleared it out, and it's sparkling more than it has in a long time. And we've changed the lightbulbs and patched the curtains, and we're getting ready to put on the first show in a long time.”
Miller said it's a short production — at about an hour and 15 minutes — to accommodate the small cast.
"I used every student that was interested," she said. "Everyone got a part somewhere within the production or on stage or backstage. Everyone who raised their hand is a part of the show.”
Miller said her students have put a lot of work into the show.
"I'm super excited to see them go in front of an audience and feel what it is to have an audience watching," she said. "They don't really have a point of reference. Many of them haven't been on stage before. And so they don't know exactly what to expect, but I think they're ready.”
Cinderella premieres this Friday, March 31, at 7 p.m. at Seward High School, with shows through April 15. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the high school's office or directly from students in the show.
For more information, visit the Seward High School Theatre Collective’s Facebook Page.
