It has been a very eventful school year for the drama students at PHUHS since they have performed multiple plays, musicals, and shows in addition to competing in district and statewide competitions.

They started out the year with a lip sync show where the students from the drama classes were required to perform with another one of their classmates. Students who were not in a drama class but part of drama club also had the option to perform in the show. The students lip sang to a variety of different songs and genres.

Following the lip singing show, the drama department put on the first play of the school year, A Piece of my Heart, a show about the people who served in the Vietnam War and their lives after the war. Cast member, Avery Gross, said, “I really had a great time working with my fellow cast members on A Piece of My Heart. It was really an all together emotional and amazing show. It was to the point where some of us were crying hysterically onstage during the last scene. It was alright though, it was part of our character to be sad towards the end, but all of the tears were real. It tells the story of the young boys and men who fought and lost their lives in the Vietnam War. It also highlighted the hardworking women who risked their lives to save these strong men. Overall, it was very touching, inspiring, and possibly my favorite show that has ever been performed at Palm Harbor.”

After A Piece of My Heart, the students started preparing for districts. For districts, students were judged on their performance in a category such as a dramatic or comedic monologue, duet acting scenes, singing a solo or duet song from a musical, pantomime, dance, or large group performance. This years large group performance was from the musical, Sweeney Todd.

The next musical the drama department put on was Forever Plaid, which was a quartet. Forever Plaid received several Broadway Star of the Future nominations. They also performed the play at the Florida State Thespian Festival since the play was selected by the Mainstage Committee.

As a fundraiser for a trip to Savannah, Georgia and the state competition, the drama department put on Broadway Night where a variety of diffrent acts were showcased. The final musical of the year was The Drowsy Chaperone which was about a wedding being thrown for a former actress and a plot to stop the wedding.

To end the year the drama department recognised outstanding drama students with the first annual Webby Awards. The Webby Awards were named after the previous PHUHS drama teacher.

The drama program has put on many amazing performances and won many diffrent awards over the time span of a school year. “I can’t wait to see what next year has in store,” Gross said.