Over the past few years, high schools and grade schools across the country have adapted to federal funding cuts and donation decreases by slashing spending on extracurricular activities. Thanks to cuts, young students across the country have missed out on physical education, visual arts, and theater classes previously afforded to them.
Jesuit’s theater department, which frequently promotes social issues through its shows and performances, started the Jesuit Theater Outreach service program to play their part in bringing the theater arts to Dallas area schools.
The Jesuit Theater Outreach program is a senior service site that offers stage-acting classes to middle school students. Every Wednesday, teams of senior theater actors venture out to their respective middle schools.
All year, the JTO seniors have been preparing students for a spring play; after nearly six months of weekly classes, the young thespians will debut their plays starting this Saturday, March 3. The shows will be entirely preformed by the middle-schoolers, with their Jesuit senior directors looking on.
David Myers, the head of Jesuit’s theater department, started the Jesuit Theater Outreach program and registered the program as a
senior service opportunity last fall. In its inaugural year, the JTO has provided theater programs in schools from Holy Trinity Catholic School on Oak Lawn Ave to Santa Clara Catholic Academy in Oak Cliff.
Seniors involved in the service site have enjoyed being the guinea pigs of JTO. “This year, I really see it as a test run,” says Frankie Guidone ’12, a senior involved in JTO. “It was definitely a big leap. I don’t know if we’ve started a new service program in a while…I think [JTO] was a really good experience for students and faculty.”
Since taking the leap into theater outreach, the seniors in JTO have taught their students about the nuts and bolts of stage acting. This basic training eventually gave way to practicing roles and preparing for a spring play.
In the coming week, all of the young actors’ work will come to a head with performances. In the days leading up to the performance, two of JTO’s directors shared their expectations for the respective plays. Noah Barron ’12, very confident in his group’s preparation, looks forward to solid performances. “I look forward to seeing how they do without the directors there,” said Barron. “I really expect that they’ll do well.”
Guidone, however, just hopes that his students have fun on the big stage. “It’s not going to be the greatest play you’ve ever seen,” admits Guidone. “I hope to see some of these kids figure out what they’re capable of on the stage. Who knows, some kids might find [theater] as something to pursue in high school.”
In the program’s first year, the inaugural directing troupe has given JTO high marks as a
service site. “My school, the Santa Clara School, is seriously understaffed,” notes Guidone. “I think what our program does for the kids is give them something to look forward to, something unique in their day. [Theater] is not something these kids would have been doing last year.”
“For me personally, it’s definitely been a rewarding experience,” says Barron. “I really think the kids have gotten a lot out of it. They definitely seem to be having a lot of fun! Hopefully, the kids have gotten some growth out of it as well.”
Any reader interested in learning more about Jesuit Theater Outreach or their services can contact theater director David Myers.
Photography provided by David Myers
