With officer positions secured and auditions complete, Drama Club is quickly jumping into producing the annual fall play, however, this year they have added something new to the agenda. With sponsor Kim Sulzner working at both FHN and Hollenbeck Middle School, the idea was proposed that the two programs should work together to ultimately benefit each others’ productions.

“[Sulzner] wants the eighth graders to get a feel of what high school theater is like so they’ll join next year,” Drama Club President Marissa Meyers said. “They could be really good, and that would make them beneficial to our program – especially the boys.”

The initial plan was for the Hollenbeck students perform a simplified version of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” while the FHN Drama Club performed the full version, however Hollenbeck officers are concerned about not having enough male performers to put on the show. Even so, they intend to use the same set as the FHN Drama Club so more time can be spent rehearsing rather than set-building.

“We are looking to have a mentorship system, primarily with the officers,” Drama Club Secretary Zac Cary said. “When we plan club events, the Hollenbeck students will be invited in order to get them more excited about drama in high school and beyond. In addition to exposing students to the theatrical arts and its related skills such as simple construction, public speaking, interior design and effective use of time, theater students form as strong a team, if not stronger, as sports teams.”

FHN’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” will take place Nov. 6-7 and Nov. 13-14 in the FHN auditorium this year. Hollenbeck will perform their play on Nov. 9-10, also in the FHN auditorium. As of press time, there are also plans for the Hollenbeck and FHN Drama Clubs to come together for a joint production in the spring.

“In terms of seriousness, high school theater is on a much higher level,” Drama Club Historian Andrew Stoker said. “The main drawback is that middle schoolers may take our advice so seriously they think that there’s a certain way things should be done, but theater’s art, and art’s subjective. I do think it’s really beneficial to have them thinking at a high school level, and it would be really cool if they plan to do it in high school.”