‘Cinderella’ to run June 1-9. Tickets go on sale May 1, 2023.
As Roosevelt High School’s Theatre Department approaches its 100th production, “Cinderella,” it’s time to celebrate the department’s achievements and history.
Over the many years, Roosevelt Theater has hosted many successful productions and programs that are still running to this day. An example is Dramafest: an entirely student-directed one-act play festival.
This year marked the 67th year of Dramafest. Katie Greve, Roosevelt senior and Theatre and Dance Department co-director, said, “Dramafest is an incredible machine we inherited from Ruben VanKempen and Beth Orme, which they inherited from the department directors before them!”
She continued, “Honestly, to the public eye, not much has changed as it works so well the way it is — I artistic direct, Mr. Stuart produces, senior students direct, and the student body acts, designs, and runs the shows! The main things we’ve changed are just refining our systems behind the scenes, like having stage managers for each show.”
Roosevelt’s theater program was established in 1923. Currently, it offers 15 diverse classes, including playwriting, dance, technical theater and design, directing, and a complete musical theater program.
The program has long carried a strong reputation. In 1996, it was named one of America’s top ten high school theater programs. It has since maintained its status as a Gold Honor Thespian Troupe due to community projects or outreach, inclusion events, productions, and field trips.
In recent years, Roosevelt Theater and the individual students involved have received several awards from various state competitions.
Greve said, “Our productions have won first place at [the Washington] State Competition four times since we started in 2015 for the titles ‘The Game’s Afoot,’ ‘Spring Awakening,’ ‘The Wolves,’ & ‘Everybody/Passage.’” She added, “In the past few years, Roosevelt Theatre students have earned top scores at ‘Thespys’ Individual Event Competition, going on to compete at both the state and international levels.”
In 2022, three students were awarded first place in the state for Solo Musical, one in Monologue, one in Playwriting, two in Duet Musical, and one in Lighting Design. In 2021, six Roosevelt students were awarded first place in the State for Solo Musical, three in Monologues, two in Duo Scene, and one in Stage Management.
Camille Pape, Roosevelt senior, said, “It’s a great outlet to be yourself and feel supported by the community and by each other.”
Roosevelt’s theater department has created a tight-knit community of students and staff. Greve said, “We are a family unit, and that comes with its challenges and joys and successes and frustrations, and that’s a beautiful thing. … The skills theater forges in collaboration and creativity are extremely valuable for any career, and being a part of a piece of art that starts with nothing but a script and turns into a full-scale production can be life-changing.”
The 2021-22 spring musical, “Mamma Mia,” introduced theater to a broader range of students.
Pape said, “Freshman and sophomore year, I did do the musical even though it was online. I don’t want to say there was a certain type of person to do it, but there lowkey was.”
However, there was a major shift last year when the program began a new recruitment strategy for “Mamma Mia”: promote it to the football team.
She said, “We had the boys that were in football join. I think that definitely changed a lot. Now you can see a bunch of different students joining. We have cheerleaders, musicians, honor students, and athletes.”
She continued, “I think it’s very endearing to have a very diverse community within the theater department.”
Roosevelt has a flourishing theatrical program that provides students with learning opportunities and a supportive community. Looking into the future, musical auditions for “Cinderella” run Dec. 7-8 and are open to all students at Roosevelt, regardless of experience.
Upcoming shows include the advanced theater show “Time & Again” on Dec. 15 and “Macbeth” and “Shakespeare’s R&J” in March.
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