A “Drama and Music Mixer” was hosted by the Drama and Vocal Music programs of CdM High School and Middle School at the Black Box Theater this past Tuesday, October 10th. Similar to the CdM Choir Bonfire, this community bonding event brought together students from both drama and choir. Brooklyn Hamilton, an eleventh grader who is playing a leading role in CdMHS’s upcoming musical Radium Girls, notes that there are often a lot of bonding events in sports and less so in the theater world, so “the Drama and Music Mixer is a way for both of the artistic endeavors in CdM to meet each other and to bond with each other.” At this event, students from both programs, ranging from 7th grade middle school students to high school seniors, had the opportunity to interact and get to know one another.
There are many notable crossovers between the drama and vocal music programs, which is why bonding functions are so valuable. Sydney Foster, a CdM junior who is actively involved in the arts and who will be starring in Radium Girls alongside Hamilton, emphasizes the fact that, “choir and drama just work hand and hand with each other, like in musicals.” Foster also mentions that when singing, it’s crucial to show feeling in your performance, or else it might bore the audience. This requires a certain level of acting skills, and when students come to these joint events, they are able to learn from one another and improve together. Ms. Ybarra, head of CdMHS’s Theatre Arts Program agrees with Foster and emphasizes that, “it’s extremely important that all the arts work well together, and I think that it’s a testament that if we band together, we are stronger than we are apart.”
This joint mixer event gave the drama and choir students an opportunity to meet and bond through their shared interest in the performing arts, and there was plenty of food to go around.