M A A R D DA YS Showcase highlights the talented voices of drama
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photo by Novah Ulm Junior Paige Rice, performs as a monkey during the Showcase event in the bright lights of the Columbus North auditorium.
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howcase is a longstanding tradition at Columbus North, with a collection of student-driven features. John Johnson, who usually directs for North Drama, was excited about this year’s showcase. “Showcase is an opportunity to develop acting skills, and feature those who normally don’t get to be featured in shows,” Johnson said. “They direct, they tech it, they do all the things to make the show happen. It gives an opportunity to develop acting skills. I often ask the kids if their first major role was at showcase, and almost half of them say yes.” Junior Ben Richards was featured in the showcase and described his role as something that gives him an interesting change in perspective, It was his first opportunity to watch what he helped to make. “I’ve never directed something before and it is an interesting change in perspective. It’s called ‘Words, Words, Words,’ and it follows three chimps in a lab experiment trying to type Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet.’ One of them has a more conformist attitude, one of them has a very socialist attitude, and one is shyer and peacekeeping,” Richards said. Senior Jaime Garcia
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by Natalie Brown design by Ananya Adur was also featured in this year’s showcase, and looked forward to following in the footsteps of upperclassmen before him. “I wrote my own monologue, and I’m very excited about it. I’ve wanted to do one since freshman year because I’ve seen all the upperclassmen do it before me.” This showcase is another shining star in a line of theater productions Garcia has been involved in, starting with a play in fourth grade. “In this play called ‘Bed Bugs’ in the fourth grade, I played the bed bug. I thought it was just really fun. And from a little kid, it just kind of made sense, because at one point he gets two of his legs torn off, and I got to explore how he was a little afraid and a little confused, and I remember thinking that it was fun to think about how the character thinks,” Garcia said. Like in his bed bug role, Garcia enjoys connecting with the character that he is playing, “Acting is a uniquely human experience, it allows us to compare ourselves to the characters that we play and I try to find the similarities and the differences that we have, be introspective,” Garcia said.
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