The annual ninth grade play at DGS will be hosted in the studio theater on Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23. The play follows ninth grade students as they navigate their way through their first day of high school. The cast, with members ranging from ninth grade to 12th grade, can be seen playing administrators, teachers, seniors and ninth graders.
The show acts as an opportunity for ninth graders to get involved in theater at DGS. Justin Matkovich, English teacher and head speech coach, comments on his goal as director of the novice play.
“I look at it as an opportunity to bridge the [drama] program with new and old members, to have freshmen be able to feel comfortable around some of the senior members of our program,” Matkovich said.
This is Matkovich’s 19th year being involved in the ninth grade play. His first being his own freshman year, followed by three years of student directing, four years of assistant directing and 10 years of being the head director. Matkovich enjoys working with ninth grade theater students to see how much they grow throughout the process, no matter how much previous experience they have.
“One of my favorite things is taking them to the theater for the first time and showing them where they perform and just seeing them look at that space. I love that aspect of it because you get to see them experiencing everything for the first time,” Matkovich said.
The play lets ninth grade students try out high school theater and decide if they want to continue on that path. Ninth grader Adele Kelly is looking forward to being in her very first DGS production.
“I’m really excited for performing in the studio theater to all three sides and I think it will be cool for people to see how the different little skits all fit together and how all the characters are really cool and the scenes are really funny,” Kelly said.
Kelly also shares how her experience in the novice play has affected her future with DGS drama.
“I think I definitely want to try student directing once I’m older because all the student directors are really nice and fun, so that’s something I want to do now that I didn’t really think about. And I want to continue with speech and drama,” Kelly said.
The ninth graders will be making their high school theater debuts in “Ninth Graders Unplugged” on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be free for DGS students with ID, $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens.
