Theater is starting off the school year with big ambitions from the new directors. With all of the upcoming changes, the department looks to make a fresh start. 

“It’s all really exciting and a bit overwhelming, but I’m ready for anything that this year throws at us,” sophomore Alexa Grubb said. 

With both previous directors leaving for new jobs after last year, the department is now being led by tech director Courtney Neuwirth and acting director Christopher Turner. 

“Mr. Turner and Ms. Neuwirth are great for this department,” senior Abby Hunt said. “I think it’s going to change things that need to be changed, and that it’s really going to improve and advance what we have built.”

Theater is doing at least four confirmed productions this year. In September, varsity theater is performing “Peter and The Starcatcher,” a Peter Pan variant comedy. The show will be for all ages on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.

“‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ is about how Peter Pan became Peter Pan and Captain Hook became Captain Hook; and it goes through his journey of (Peter Pan) finding himself,” sophomore Grace Potter said. 

The second varsity show will be William Shakespeare’s “Tempest” in November. It will be followed by the mainstage show “Seussical the Musical” in January. It will be the theater’s first musical in three years. 

“I was in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ my freshman year and we weren’t able to do another musical until now,” senior Sara Snyder said. “I’m very excited to jump into a whimsical show like ‘Seussical.’” 

In the spring, the students will shift their focus to the competitive side of theater with the UIL One Act Play. The actual play hasn’t been named, but Turner confirmed there will be a small cast of four to seven people. 

“I’m very excited because of how close you get to your cast mates through a sometimes stressful process,” said junior Taylor Mattingly, who has been in one One Act Plays. “You become a family. We win and lose together.”