Classic match-up of actors & athletes
What do you think?
Which is more difficult:
-Learning lines for a play?
-Learning plays for a defensive line?
Let’s travel through the day with two drama students and and two athletes to gain insight about how they keep up with their day full of homework along with drama or athletics.
Students in drama go through the hardships of getting to practice, going to dress rehearsals, memorizing lines, and learning dances.
Drama might seem like hard work and no fun, but spending time with these students shows how much they truly have a joy and passion for theater.
Students participating in sports endure their own version of hardships and trials with balancing homework stress, social lives, practices, and competitions. Most believe the end result is worth the sweat and challenges faced.
The Mane Post did a Q &A with two drama students and two athletes at Grace Prep some questions about their typical day on a Tuesday and Thursday.
Q: “Is it hard balancing academics and sports/drama?”
A: Sophomore Emily Watson, who has the lead role of Dorothy in GPA’s Wizard of Oz:
“Yes, it’s very hard because you get home late in the afternoon and you have the next day to do it [homework].”
A: Sophomore Hanna King also acts as a citizen in Wizard of Oz said, “I mean, even though I don’t have a really big role, I still feel like there is so much going on outside and backstage it is overwhelming. Sometimes you have to take hours and hours out of your day to prepare one scene. Instead of doing homework you are doing drama set ups and rehearsal etc. and that gives you a little bit less time to do homework.”
A: Sophomore Tennis Team Member, who played all year long, Sam Hall said, “It’s not too hard because at Grace Prep you learn early-on to balance your priorities and that’s one of the things you have to learn to do well in both academics and athletics. So, my tennis schedule isn’t that demanding and I am able to balance very well.”
A: Senior Track Member, Will Pinon said, “Yes, because athletics take up a bunch of time and so does academics, so it can be kind of stressful getting to practice and getting homework done too.”
Q: Do you spend more time practicing for drama/sport or doing homework?
A: Watson says, “It depends on the week, like tech week I’m always doing drama but regular practice days I’m usually doing homework more.
A: King said, “It honestly depends because most of the time on Tuesdays and Thursdays I’m doing a lot of homework cause I’m trying to get it done so I can have more time for drama, but I spend most of my time in drama just practicing.
A: Hall says, “I spend more time on homework than sports by a landslide. I usually play tennis about 2 hours a day 3 times a week plus matches.”
A: Pinon says, “I probably spend more time on academics than athletics.
Q: Do you think you will pursue drama/sports in the future?
A: Watson said, “Definitely, I like drama…that’s what I want to do with my life.”
A: King said, “I don’t think it is going to be a career, but I do definitely think that when I get older I will try to do a lot of productions at least help at some.”
A: Hall says, “I don’t think I will pursue tennis beyond high school seriously because I just play it for fun. “
Pinon says, “In college probably not, but I might do it as a hobby.”
Q: What are some of the plays you have done or other sports you’ve played?
A: Watson says, “Well obviously the Wizard of Oz, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Anne of Green Gables, Guys and Dolls, The 11th, The Ninth Train, and The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever.”
A: Hall said, “Other sports at Grace I’ve played in Junior high was basketball, football, track and I’ve done golf also.”
A: King said, “I’ve been in Charlie Brown and I was Snoopy, I’ve done Guys and Dolls, I was a dancer, I’ve been in Aladdin I was Jasmine, and of course the Wizard of Oz I am an Oz woman 2 and that is it.
A: Pinon said, “I have done cross country and then track because cross country is a nice jog while track is a lot of sprinting.”
Q: Do you ever feel overloaded by academic and drama/athletic?
A: Watson said, “Yeah, it’s a lot to deal with especially all the lines because in the Wizard of Oz I have like 300 lines to memorize but that is like not including the songs, but it is hard memorizing all that and stuff for tests too.
A: Hall says, “Sometimes, but like I said before, you learn to balance your priorities early in the years at Grace Prep.”
A: Pinon said, “Yes, especially in October and March, those are like the months when teachers assign a lot more homework during that time and athletics are in full swing with practices and meets etc.
Q: What are your T/Th like?
A: King said, “Usually I do my first two or three classes early in the morning and then go to drama practice then I finish the rest when I get back, but it usually takes a while to finish it though.”
A: Hall said, “I do homework in the morning and then go to play tennis and then I come back and finish what I have left.”
Pinon said, “So I get here at 7:30 because my brother has class, then from 11 to 1:30 at track practice, then I get home about 2 or 2:30 and then I shower then do homework until 5 o’ clock.”
