The Pirates of Penzance has been offering laughter to audiences for over a hundred years. The Operetta began in 1879, and this year our families of will get to experience this comedy for themselves from the stage of Westlake Christian Academy.
This musical will offer students the opportunity to showcase their acting, dancing and singing abilities along with a love for the theater. Sixth grade teacher Paula Coombe will be the show’s director this year, alongside music teacher Andrew Pugh, who will be the chorus director, and Jean Ptasienski, who will be the show’s choreographer.”Being in The Pirates of Penzance was the best part of my college career,” said Pugh. “To be able to teach these students something they will need for years to come is a great opportunity.”
The Pirates of Penzance is a show that will offer students the opportunity to showcase some of their talents with music and acting, but all the while, still having fun putting on this production. One of the attractive aspects of Westlake, is that students are given the opportunity to play sports, act and be in clubs at the same time. Often, in bigger schools, students have to choose between one or the other; soccer or musical? That doesn’t happen at Westlake. Students are able to participate in an array extracurriculars without having to make that tough decision. Many WCA students are engaged in many different extracurricular activities this year; the musical and volleyball, band and soccer, or all three! When given this opportunity, most students take it without hesitation and teachers are always available for tutoring if their schedule gets overwhelming.
“All of the teachers sit down and set up a schedule for all of the practices,” said Coombe. “We come to a compromise so that we can give students the opportunity to do the things they want to do.”
Noah Steiefelmayer is a current senior here at Westlake and is also a major character in the play; he’s playing Sam, the Lieutenant to the Pirate King. Noah has been in countless productions here at Westlake and also plays soccer and basketball, so he understands when his schedule gets busy and he gets help from his teachers.
“Westlake does a great job of allowing students to do everything that they want,” Stiefelmayer said. “The directors and the coaches work around each other so students can have that opportunity.”
One of the ways Stiefelmayer works everything into his schedule is he uses his time management skills to the best of his abilities. If he is at rehearsal for the play and is not in that particular scene, that’s when he is catching up on his homework and if he needs help, his teachers are more than willing to help him.
Teachers and staff here at Westlake are always striving to give their students multiple opportunities to experience those things they wouldn’t if they had gone to another school. Additionally, they hope to teach our students important life skills that can’t found inside the classroom, which will equip them to be better prepared for college and to so serve the kingdom of God. We are excited about The Pirates of Penzance and we think you should be too!
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