Applause and laughter floated from the audience to the actors as they took the stage. The Drama Queens held their first performance of the school year Tuesday, Oct. 21, where they performed the pieces they had been practicing in meetings. The Drama Queens performed a large group comedy piece, a monologue, a song piece and a small group dramatic piece.
The Drama Queens are a rehearsed and improv theatre group devised of students in Intermediate, Advanced and Advanced Study Theatre classes. Their acts are chosen based on what they are working on during class, what students have written and subjects that interest them, according to senior Stella Leland.
In addition to the annual musicals and plays, Archer offers theatre elective options from sixth grade to 12th. Leland joined the Drama Queens as a junior. They said they were drawn to the class because of its reputation among students.
“I’d heard of Drama Queens the whole time being [at Archer] as the super cool theatre class with all the upperclassmen,” Leland said. “I’d been to some performances and really loved them … They were great shows, very interesting.”
During weekly rehearsals, the Drama Queens perform in front of their peers in order to get feedback and praise, which Leland said helps visualize how they should engage with the crowd when performing. Senior KJ McPherson says that one of the ways the Drama Queens prepared for this show was by reading their lines many times.
“We just work on running [lines] over and over again until it becomes a second nature,” McPherson said. “At the end, you are then able to perform and say your lines subconsciously without thinking too hard about it.”
Only juniors and seniors are able to act in the Drama Queens show. McPherson said she believes that acting can encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and help them discover interesting genres.
“For many students who may not be as comfortable on stage, it can definitely serve as a way to push students to put themselves out there more,” McPherson said. “It can also help expose someone to a variety of scenes, such as comedic or dramatic pieces, giving everyone an opportunity to try something from each genre.”
Phoebe Gustafson (‘27) is new to the Drama Queens performance group. She has been involved in theatre at Archer through the plays and musicals and started attending performances once she was able to in upper school due to audience restrictions.
“I would hear a lot of the juniors and seniors who were in Drama Queens get really excited about it,” Gustafson said. “They’d tell us, ‘come to our lunch performance,’ and it was people I’d always admired in the theatre department, so I was always excited to see them perform outside of main productions.”
Drama Queens performances happen around four times a year. Every year, the acting group will be submitting their performances showcased during lunch to the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California. Sophomore Zoe Eyraud attended the show and said highlight from the Drama Queens show was how it brought light to the seniors’ talent.
“Drama Queens is important because it shows off the amazing captivating performance and professionalism of the upperclassmen actors,” Eyraud said. “It highlights their brilliance and this year is especially important for [the seniors] because it’s their last year.”
