The Goal of Selah Drama is to encourage students to speak comfortably and audibly before large crowds of people, learn to present characters, improve in improv skills, work as a team with other actors and crew members, and acquire skills in all areas of the theater such as set, lighting, makeup, sewing, and stage managing.
Drama 100
Elementary aged students will enjoy creative theater techniques that build basic characterization, good stage presence, improv skills and working with peers. The class will meet in two sessions. The fall session will cover Acting, and the spring session will cover Musical Theater.
Grades K thru 3: Wednesdays 4:00pm to 5:00pm (taught by Michelle Murray)
Grades 4 thru 6: Wednesday 5:15 to 6:45pm (taught by Michelle Murray)
Drama 200: Building a Character (Jr. High)
For new students entering on a Junior High level, this class covers the basics of character development and stagecraft through improv, performance, and hands on instruction in set building, lighting, and costume construction. (Tuesdays, 4 to 6pm).
Drama 300: Voice and Diction
"If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, did it make a sound?" or "If an actor delivers a stunning soliloquy of a classic character, but no one can hear his voice, did communication occur?" Students will focus on technique for audible voice and diction in a theater atmosphere through acting games, scavenger hunts and warm-up techniques, in addition to a full length play. (Offered Tuesday 4:00-6:00pm 2023-2024).
Drama 301: Accents and Stage Movement (High School)
This class will cover the art of learning accents and developing character through stage movement. (Thursdays 4pm to 6pm, taught by Michelle Murray).
Drama 400: Shakespeare (9th/10th Grade)
Students will focus on the challenge of delivering Shakespeare's Renaissance verse in a manner that engages and entertains modern audiences. The class will learn just how witty and wacky the old bard really was. (Tuesdays, 6 to 9pm). This class will perform a Shakespeare play in the fall and a musical in the spring.
Drama 500: Realism
After the previous year of elevated verse and prose, students will return to a focus on delivering performances that show true life experiences. (Offered Fall 2023).
Drama 501: Advanced Performance Studies
This class analyzes the various methods of acting created by famous individuals such as Stanislavski and Meisner. Students will also study advanced accents and stage movement. (Offered Fall 2023).
Drama 600: Stagecraft
The class will delve deeper than basic construction and cover the art of design in the stagecraft process of set, props, costumes, lights, sound and makeup. (Offered Fall 2024).
Drama 700: Performance Group
This class is for college students. We will perform a musical in the fall and a play in the spring. (Mondays, 7 to 9pm).
Musical Theater
Students will cover the basics of singing as a chorus, jazz dance, ballroom dance, and character acting. We will audition for lead soloist roles. We will present a musical in the fall and a musical in the spring. We have a large group with a lot of joy and enthusiasm for musicals! (Thursdays 6:00pm-9:00pm, Director: Michelle Murray, Musical Director: Melinda Zeek, Choreographer: Tori Matthews).
Voice and Music Theory
Students will learn the basics of sight reading, sight singing, rhythm, and vocal performance as a choir. This class is intended to give more time towards an excellent foundation in music, without the extra pressure of a performance. (Available by request, taught by Michelle Murray).
Jazz Dance
This one-hour class will involve a half hour workout and a half hour of across-the-flour exercises designed to build strength, flexibility, and artistry in jazz dance , the basic dance of musical theater. This class is intended to give more time towards an excellent foundation in dance, without the extra pressure of a performance. (Available by request).
