(Photo/Creative Commons)

As students attended academic camps and workshops over the summer, another group of Academy upper schoolers dedicated themselves to furthering their learning by performing in the arts. From ten minutes to two hours long, there was no shortage of participation in local community shows by Academy’s actors.

Senior Julia Leet and juniors Sidney Edson and Aylah Mendenhall performed in MadLab’s short play festival, which featured Kami Tibbles’17 and Taylor McGowan’18 as playwrights.

Over the course of three weekends, each girl had a role in at least one of ten ten-minute plays, working hard to develop powerful characters in a short period of time onstage. The three actors performed alongside both professional adults and adolescents to put together the shows.

“It was so awesome to meet people who have the same dreams and aspirations as you do,” said Mendenhall’19 of her peers at MadLab. “I’m so glad I got to experience this.”

In a more traditional setting, juniors Peter DiMaggio and Kyle Channell also took to the stage in Legally Blonde: The Musical and Spring Awakening, respectively.

DiMaggio, who played Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde, was lead Elle Woods’s friend and—spoiler alert—love interest. Forrest is charming and determined, and his witty exchanges with Elle left the audience in stitches.

In stark contrast, Channell portrayed Hanschen Rilow, a confident, intelligent teenager in Spring Awakening. An intense, mature production, this show dealt directly with themes of teenage sexuality—difficult to put onstage—especially with a cast of high school students at Columbus Children’s Theatre.

With the acquired theatre experience of these dedicated performers, this year’s productions are sure to be even better than the last.