With the rise in popularity of performances such as Hamilton, theater has become more popular among a younger demographic and no longer generally markets to adult attendees and now reaches a wider audience. On October 5th, Bowie theater performed two shows which I attended as the first productions I have ever been to in the years I’ve been at the school. I have never been a connoisseur of theater, and have only seen A Chorus Line and The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway whilst on a vacation in NYC. However, I have always enjoyed plays adapted to movies like A Streetcar Named Desire, but have never really been to a school play since the time they were first available to me in middle school.

The shows for the night were 39 Steps and Comic Potential, and going in I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have always heard people praise the shows theater puts on and I know that the students put an amazing amount of effort into the production because it is something they are passionate about doing. Ultimately, my experience can be summed up into two coincidently rhyming phrases: completely amazing, wildly entertaining.

Since the time the show began, I was captivated not only by the story line, but by the skilled theatrics of the student performers who could completely portray their character apart from the person they otherwise usually are. The best part personally was seeing my friends perform, because it was amazing watching them and thinking ‘I know them!’ and seeing the talent that has them doing something I probably wouldn’t be able to. I was simply amazed by the way it all came together, from the characters on stage to the people behind the scene, it was running so efficiently to create what I was watching.

During the intermission, I went out to stretch my legs and struck up a conversation with a student from Gorzycki Middle School who was with her theater class that had come to see the play on their field trip. Her and her friends were so excited about the performance it made my appreciation grow, and increased the takeaway I had from the shows. Essentially, that night I saw two shows that made me laugh and increased my appreciation for the dramatic arts drastically, and I will definitely be returning to see more, props to the director and students who made it all possible for such a fantastic performance!