Jr. Thespians, 10 Best/ Worst Things About Middle School

By Harper Baum

What’s Jr. Thespians?

Musical theater fanatic? Well now the opportunity to act in a play of your own is available to all students! The Junior Thespians club, a drama club run by JLS’s very own drama teacher, Mr. Mahle, just put on their very first performance of the year, The Ten Best/ Worst Things About Middle School. The Jr. Thespians club meets during lunch on Thursdays to rehearse and discuss the show, as well as after school for additional rehearsals during the week. The play is supervised by Mr. Mahle and organized by student actors and even a student director. Before we dive in about the actors’ experiences in this production, a background on the play itself. 

The Ten Best/Worst Things About Middle School

The Ten Best/Worst Things About Middle School, a play by M.G. Davidson, captures the middle school experience from the perspectives of more optimistic students versus less excited ones. The play is a short one, around 30 minutes long and is the perfect performance for students around the ages of 10-13. With a quick search, it is easy to conclude that this is the perfect show for the start of a school year, given its fun nature and comical storyline. 

Student Experience

Sasha is a 7th grader with a passion for theater, who’s been wanting to try her hand at directing a play since the beginning of the school year. Sasha described how fun the entire play was because of all the new people you get to meet and work with. She also talked about what a good sense of leadership you can develop through this process. In addition she spoke about some of the challenges she and Mr. Mahle faced and had to overcome, such as working around actor’s schedules and learning to plan ahead and be prepared. Overall she said that she really enjoyed and recommends the experience. 

Another student involved in the production, Nora Benitezmonforte, had a comment as well. Nora said, “I really loved how Sasha put her entire heart into the play.” This just goes to show that the attitude of the people in leadership roles while working on any sort of production is extremely important. By maintaining a positive and hopeful outlook, Sasha was able to maintain an upbeat work environment for all of the students. Even Mr. Mahle, JLS’s drama teacher and the main director of the play, was impressed. Mr. Mahle mentioned his interaction with Sasha when she first asked to assist in directing. “I’ve been very impressed with Sasha because she’s been so