Drama

Why Study Drama?

Webber Academy has a small, but successful Theatre Program that gives incredible opportunity to its Drama students. Our students are well trained in Junior High to explore movement and voice in character creation, storytelling and play creation. By Senior High, we have strong actors with an excellent background and outstanding concentration skills.

In the senior program, we are able to work like a Conservatory program. Students are given opportunities to act, to write plays, to work in technical theatre, to create marketing material and to direct plays. They develop strong speaking abilities, leadership skills, and problem solving abilities.

Many of the school’s valedictorians and scholarship winners have been through our drama program.

Where do our students go after High School? Two of our Drama graduates are pursuing professional acting careers having graduated from prestigious drama schools: George Brown College and York University in Toronto. One of these students wrote and performed in her own Calgary Fringe Show in 2011. Two former students are currently in acting programs at Grant MacEwan U (Edmonton) and UBC. Other graduates are studying literature, feminism, media studies, advertising, arts management, computer design, criminology, education, business, medicine and law. 

Did You Know?

Webber Academy students usually perform a larger classic show or musical in the Fall, a number of short student-directed plays in the Winter, and One Act Plays for the Alberta High School Drama Festival in the Spring.

Webber Academy has participated in the Zone and Provincial Drama Festival for 8 years. Two shows Wrecked and The Promise of Terezin performed at the Provincial Drama Festival and won awards for acting, design, lighting, technical professionalism and original music.

We offer Drama 10, Drama 20 and Drama 30 as well as Advanced Acting 15, 25, 35 and Technical Theatre 15, 25, 35. The latter courses are designed to be performance based, and are outside the regular schedule. 125 hours of rehearsal is a minimum requirement for credit.

Drama 10’s study Ancient Greek Theatre, Shakespearian Theatre and Modern American Theatre, performing scenes from these eras. The emphasis is on acting skills, including the performance of a Shakespearian monologue. Students learn the use of foils which is enriched study in movement, application of stage makeup, design for theatre and jobs in theatre.

Drama 20’s study Ancient Roman Comedy, Shakespearian Comedy, Reformation Comedy and Comedy of Manners concentrating on the creation of comic technique and Commedia dell’ Arte. They write a 10 Minute Play and a strong group might create a One Act play. Technical theatre learning includes lighting and sound.

Drama 30’s study directing and Twentieth and Twenty-first Century developments in playwriting such as Canadian Theatre, First Nation’s Theatre, Surrealism, Absurdist, Expressionism, and Modern American Drama. Students each create and direct a short play. As a group, they create a show for the Provincial Drama Festival.

Past productions include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Importance of Being Earnest, Bye, Bye, Birdie, Kidding Around, Wrecked, How Billy Lived, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, The Promise of Terezin, Is that the Bus to Pittsburg, An Actor’s Nightmare, The Monkey’s Paw, The Lottery, and Antigone Now. Numerous 10 Minute Plays, scenes and monologues are included in class.

·       November  22 & 24  Senior High Fall Performances