With the addition of new drama teacher, Kim Sulzner, the Drama Club has added 20 new freshmen to their ranks. They are also now following MSHAA guidelines and are working on becoming an Honor Troupe, a distinction requiring members to perform community service, and earn points by putting on shows.

“I’m nervous for new rules or regulations she might put in place,” Junior Class Representative for Drama Club Megan Thielbar said. “It seems like she’ll definitely be more positive than negative for sure. There’s not too much I’m worried about.”

Drama club members, including Vice President, sophomore Zac Cary, are looking forward to see what changes will mean this year and what a new director will bring the growing club. Drama Club members hope that Sulzner will be supportive of new creative endeavors and work effectively as both a director and teacher.

“I’m nervous to see how it will go, how the actors will respond to Mrs. Sulzner, but I’m also excited to see how she will get to know all the students,” Cary said.

In order to spend more time with her children, Sulzner moved from teaching high school, at Francis Howell Central, to middle school, at Hollenbeck. She looks forward to getting back to teaching at the high school level, and seizing opportunities not afforded at the middle school level.

“The maturity level [of middle schoolers and high schoolers] is a huge difference,” Sulzner said.  “Middle schoolers just can’t do a lot of things. They can’t really build sets and use a lot of costumes. With high schoolers, you don’t have to be constantly looking over their shoulder.”

Sulzner looks forward to putting on plays this year, and the opportunity to expand beyond what she could do at the middle school level. She plans to put on two main-stage shows including “Bad Seed,” a thriller by William March in which a mother suspects that her 8-year-old daughter is a serial killer. Auditions were held Thursday, Sept. 11. The play will take place Nov. 20-22.

Students are excited to embrace the new opportunities with and to make Drama Club the kind of family it was in the past. They hope to stage a variety of shows and performances and become an Honor Troupe.

“Everybody in high school kind of has their place, they find their club, or their activity where they just kind of fit in,” Thielbar said. “That’s what drama club has been for me, and what I hope we can make it for all our new members and for Mrs. Sulzner.”