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March 27, 2009

New HHS Drama Teacher Cruises Through First Year

By Leslie Perales Observer Staff Writer

Zoe Dillard has taught drama to students of all ages and over the past few months has brought new programs and opportunities to the students at Herndon High School.

Dillard last taught at Westfield High School as the second director and has also worked at Falls Church and James Madison high schools. "I feel like we have a very talented group of kids," she said of her students at Herndon. She said the students at the school are enthusiastic and the Herndon community has been welcoming and supportive of both Dillard and the program. "There's a real sense of community around the school," she said.

Dillard and her students are working on the spring production of "Arsenic and Old Lace," which will run April 30, May 1 and 2. Dillard said rehearsals for the show are going well. "We have a very talented cast," she said. Dillard said she chose this year's spring show after originally planning on "The Tempest," but found she wanted something that suited her students better. "I like to choose things that fit the group of students that we have and their talents," Dillard said. "I feel like we have a lot of really high-energy, comedic actors."

"Arsenic and Old Lace" is a farce written in the late 1930s. The play revolves around Mortimer Brewster (played by Alex Burns) and his two little old aunts Abby (Molli Atallah) and Martha (Kristen Joyce). The aunts have made a habit out of poisoning old men who stay in their boarding house with elderberry wine to help them find peace. Mortimer finds out what his aunts have been up to and has to figure out how to deal with their eccentric activities.

Earlier in the season Dillard and her students presented "The Sound of Music" and produced a children's show in December. Dillard has also brought new programs to HHS' theater department with an improvathon, which took place in January, and Creative Coffeehouse, held last week. At the improvathon students from area high schools and middle schools competed against each other in an improvisational face off. She said she hopes more schools get involved next year.

For Creative Coffeehouse, students were able to try out to perform anything they wanted and use it as a creative outlet, Dillard said. "It's a neat evening because you get to see talent that you otherwise wouldn't be able to see," Dillard said. Many of the programs Dillard has brought to Herndon are ones that are in place at Westfield. Dillard said she wanted to offer students as many opportunities as possible to perform.

This summer Dillard and the HHS Drama Boosters will hold The Grand Summer Musical Theater Experience. The summer theater program is open to students going into seventh grade next year all the way to 2009 graduates. The month-long program will culminate with a production of "Grease." Dillard said next year she plans on presenting a full-length Shakespearian play, since she skipped "The Tempest" this year. "A lot of this year has been building for next year," she said. Visit HerndonDrama.org.