The drama students at Strathmore High School (SHS) may have just wrapped their production of Newsies last week but that doesn't mean they are sitting still until the next year. 

Drama teacher Deanne Bertsch is excited to see another cast of over 20 performers who will bring Frozen to life. Bertsch said that although they may not be able to bring actual magic to the stage, the show will still have its own sense of wonder for the audience. 

"A lot of it is told through what the actors are saying. Plus we have a beautifully decorated set with about 200 snowflakes all over it everywhere, it's pretty magical. And of course, we have a giant dancing snowman!"

Bertsch explained this set was designed and came together with students from all of her classes and it was great to see so many students come together with one goal in mind. 

Previously the students brought Newsies to the stage, Bertsch did say the performers were thrilled to tackle a big production.

"It's not the most well known musical, so many people had never seen it and the kids did such an amazing job. They did pretty challenging choreography and there's some pretty challenging singing, it was really inspiring the story itself, but also how far the kids came in the short time that we had for rehearsals."

The arts is an area that has been a passion and a constant in Bertsch's life, a performer herself and an educator. Getting to share her passion is something she doesn't take for granted.

"I think the most exciting and rewarding part of my job is not only the relationships that get created in the theatre between the students and me and my students as well but also facilitating opportunities for them to shine and to realize what they're capable of.  It's a scary thing to be vulnerable and get up on stage and sing and put yourself out there and they choose to take a giant risk and then they learn that they can be really good at it and people are blown away by what they can do and it's just exciting to watch it happen." 

Students involved in performing arts at SHS will be right back on the stage in the new year, on January 10 students will be bringing an Elvis inspired dance show to the stage with pieces they have choreographed themselves set to Elvis classics,  and on the 18 Glee Recital.

Along with that audiences will be treated to another large stage show that will take a lot of people back in time.

"For the first time in my very long career we're doing Grease and the kids are really, really excited about that. That goes up in June so we hope lots of people will come out from Strathmore"

With more productions set for the new year Bertsch is grateful to the support of the staff and students at SHS but also for the community support, "Frozen runs from December 18 to 21 and we only have a handful of tickets left for each show, people really love Frozen!" 

To get ahold of one of the few tickets that remain Bertsch noted theatre goers can text 403-821-3203 to secure tickets. 

 

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