Passion and joy fill the hearts of young students as they rehearse during Joy Act Club, a newly founded organization at James Bowie High School. These rehearsals will eventually shape into a way to spread the joy of acting that these students experience to people who need to feel a little love, light, and laughter.
The Joy Act Club was founded by junior Gracie Ruland and aims to reach the hearts and minds of senior citizens in care homes or anyone else who needs a little extra happiness in their life through the art of theater. Already, dozens of students involved in Bowie’s theater program have become members of the Joy Act Club, to share their love of acting with others.
“My favorite part about being in the club is collaborating with other theater students for something really important,” The Joy Act Club’s junior musical theatre review director Marin Lawson said. “As in, going to less fortunate people in the hospital or visiting nursing homes with a group of people who all want to make the world a better place.”
The club has already held auditions and cast members for the first two shows they are doing in the fall semester, and are currently reading through their scripts. Right now, they are based during school hours and hold all of their rehearsals in FIT, all under the leadership of Ruland, vice president Hailey Davidson, and other executive officers Alice Goss and Jennifer Crawford.
“In a typical FIT meeting, we cover what we’re going to be doing that week,” Hart said. “So, essentially, what everything is looking like, the events that are coming up on our schedule, and all the details people need to know. Then we just hang out and socialize with our friends.”
These day-to-day meetings help keep the productions on track, but they are only the beginning of what the club hopes to accomplish. Their goal is to share the connection they have with others outside the school.
“I’m excited to bring joy to others who don’t normally get to experience this kind of thing, like those who are sick or aren’t able to get out much, so they get to experience it as well,” Hart said. “We haven’t started traveling anywhere yet, but once we get these shows up and running, we’ll start performing to people in need.”
Hart is the Joy Act Club’s director for musical theater review and is one of the people responsible for making sure their productions are perfect for their audience. His favorite part about being a director is that he gets to lead his fellow members to their true potential on the stage and watch them thrive.
“In the fall, we are performing two different productions, ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ and ‘North Pole’s Got Talent’,” Hart said. “So, during FIT, we split up into two different groups based on which show you were assigned, and run through lines with our cast-mates.”
The production of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is based on the popular children’s movie about cartoon character Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and their friends looking for the true meaning of Christmas. The club’s second skit, ‘North Pole’s Got Talent’, is a common Christmas show performed in school theater and follows the story of the various inhabitants of the North Pole performing songs and dances to spread Christmas cheer.
“We held auditions for our shows last week, and everyone was super excited to find out which production they were in,” Lawson said. “My main job is going to be helping to direct our musical theater shows in the spring, so right now I’m just helping our president and vice president in any way I can and taking up small roles, like a reindeer, to fill in spaces.”
The Joy Act Club, though sponsored through one of Bowie’s theater directors Marco Bazan, is entirely crafted with student minds. From the basic idea of the club to making it a real thing, casting its members, and coming up with plays, it’s all been student-led.
“It is completely student-driven; the students direct it, they cast it, and produce the shows,” Bazan said. “I think what’s exciting about them is that it gives students leadership roles and responsibility while also giving them space to direct and create their own art.”
According to Bazan, these students have created an amazing community that helps them build character for their future. Many of the club’s members are juniors and seniors, and are graduating in the next year or two. Joy Act Club is something that these students will put on their college applications and carry with them wherever they go next.
“I think what we’re doing is really great and I would definitely put this on my college applications,” Hart said. “It’s a type of community service and shows colleges what kind of people we are.”
Ruland, Davidson, Goss, and Bazan created the club with the hope of inspiring independence in all who joined and offering up the opportunity to make a change in their community. Only time will tell if the club will flourish, but Ruland reports feeling hopeful.
“I feel really proud about what we’re doing, and I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of this amazing group of people,” Lawson said. “Most of us have been doing theater for a long time, so being able to use this talent to help other people makes me happy.”
