High School Drama Competition

I went to Valencia High School in Placentia, California, to work as a judge at drama competition for the Drama Teachers' Association of Southern California. Most performances were about average. Some of the student-written scenes were interesting. One scene was about the Japanese internment camps in California where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. The subject matter had merit, but the performance and direction were lacking. Another piece with merit was about Rosa Parks, but, for some reason, portrayed her planning in advance to sit at the front of the bus. That doesn't fit the facts. Strangely, two of the student written pieces were about Charles Manson. I placed one of them as my first place choice. Some of the monologue actors achieved a fine depth and range of emotion in their pieces. The last show I saw was an amazing performance of two young actors who did a scene from Moliere's Forced Wedding - in French! Almost no one understood what they were saying, but the scene was still hilarious. Of course, they won.