Benefits of Joining the York College Drama Club
Photo Courtesy: Stephanie Velazquez
By Stephanie Velazquez
Why should you join the York College Drama Club? It can help you build up your confidence, create new friendships, and even give you an opportunity to participate in various performances in the performing arts center.
The York College Milton G. Basin Performing Arts Center has produced many play and musical productions. One play that was recently performed was The Selected Scenes of Sarah Ruhl, which was a collection of scenes taken from plays written by Sarah Ruhl.
Amanda Gardner, a speech communications and theater arts major, was one of the actors from the drama club that was cast in the play.
Gardner’s start in the theatre/drama world began when she was in the 9th grade.
“My first entry was when my 9th grade Drama Teacher asked me to read something for the class and I did not think anything of it,” she recalls.
The teacher later asked her if she wanted to be in a play. “There was only me and two other girls in the play and I had to memorize so much I was like I could either quit and regret it or I could man up and do this. I have loved it ever since.”
Joining and participating in drama productions can also help boost your confidence up.
“I would say it does, in fact, boost confidence because you have to perform not knowing what you look like. Like you do not get to see yourself perform until after you do it,” she said. “So you gotta just suck it up and give it all you have to talk to a live audience but you have to project so there is no way you can hide from speaking.”
Most people view theater as a simple extracurricular activity but joining drama clubs can be beneficial for those involved.
Starshima Trent, another speech communications and theater arts major at york, also says that she believed that being a part of the theatre world has lead to a positive experience.
“I first got into the theater world when I was in elementary school,” she said. “I fell in love with learning my lines and getting into character because it gave me a voice that I thought I never had.”
Trent has a learning disability and through theater, she found confidence in herself. “I was put into special education classes because I was told I had a learning disability,” she said. “I felt very depressed because of that I thought I would never be normal again but when I found my love for theater it gave me a voice and it gave me power back.”
The York College Drama Club club meetings are held during club hours every Tuesday and Thursday in the Performing Arts Center across the street from the main academic building.
