Theatre, Technical Theatre & Media Production
Department Contact Information
Emma Harmon
Theatre Director
eharmon@dist113.org
(224)765-2171
Students focus on developing community and a strong sense of personal voice through creative collaboration. Students can present their work to the community through performances, festivals, and workshops. Students have opportunities to travel as part of the Theatre Arts program.
Courses
ACTING
- Acting I-II
- Acting III
- Directing for the Stage
- Advanced Theatre Performance
THEATRE PRODUCTION
- Tech Theatre I-II
- Design for the Stage
MEDIA PRODUCTION
- Film Making I-II
- Advanced Production
For course specific information please visit your teacher's Schoology page.
For help accessing Schoology please visit the District 113 Schoology Resource page
Callboard
This page will include information about schedules, cast lists, ticket sales, and other important info!
Auditions, Rehearsal Schedules, Tickets, Other Info
Visit www.theatrehphs.org for more info!
Stage Crew
More Info coming soon!
Curriculum
Performance Course Offerings
Acting One and Two
Acting provides opportunities for students to investigate the craft of acting, while encouraging each student to explore their imagination and unique creative expression. Study includes guided practice of improvisation, scenes from comic and dramatic plays, and acting training techniques which develop performance and storytelling skills. This one semester course cultivates team spirit among the participants and heightens each student’s self confidence.
Acting One is a prerequisite for Acting Two.
Acting III is designed to meet the needs of the student who is interested in furthering acting skills and training the actor’s instrument. The concentration during this semester is placed on in-depth character analysis, movement, creative play writing, and advanced improvisation.
Acting One and Two is a prerequisite for Acting Three.
This semester course provides highly creative projects designed to offer students structured support in developing directing skills. Study includes application of staging techniques, actor coaching, and script analysis. Each student will direct a piece of theatre to be performed for an invited audience at the end of the semester.
Acting One, Two and Three or the consent of the instructor are prerequisites.
Acting Studio is a year long course which provides a dynamic and creative laboratory for performers to apply their acting training and playwriting skills. All projects are designed to inspire and challenge the actor’s imaginative power, develop confidence in diverse performance styles, and promote intellectual inspection of acting theory and philosophy. In addition, each actor will create and perform a 30 minute solo-show for an invited audience. Acting I and II are prerequisites for this course. ATP may be taken for honor credit.
Acting Three is a prerequisite for Advanced Theatre Performance.
Playwriting
Students explore the creative process of script development through various activities and writing exercises. Students dig into the writing process, eventually creating short plays that receive a staged reading with actors.
Directing for the Stage or Design for the Stage are prerequisites for Playwriting.
Students develop their own study in acting, directing or play writing are possibilities. Working with the instructor as a teaching assistant is a popular option.
Technical Theatre Course Offerings
Technical Theatre (Tech Theatre I-II)
Tech Theatre provides opportunities for students to develop skills in the execution of stage design for theatre. Study includes hands-on experiences in scene construction, set painting, special effects, computer drafting, stage lighting, sound, and production planning. Students will strengthen their organizational skills as they use creative problem solving techniques to complete group projects. Students work in small groups throughout the year to develop their team building skills. The class splits it time between class labs working on the current production and class discussions. There is no after school requirement for this class.
Design for the Stage
Design for the Stage provides advanced students an opportunity to develop design skills in scene, lighting, sound and costume design. The design process takes them from script analysis to design presentation techniques. Production planning, creative problem solving and developing team-work skills are also developed in this year long class. Students in this class have practical design experiences during the current production season and students who take this class are given the opportunity to design Stunts, Dance HP in Concert and The Short Play Festival and assist in crew at other productions. Design for the Stage can be repeated, with students tackling more complex projects each year.
Technical Theatre and Directing for the Stage are prerequisites for Design for the Stage. Students may also receive instructor consent to take the course.
Independent Study in Theatre-Design or Technology
Students develop their own study in one of the design areas or create a project that focuses on technology. Working with the instructor as a teaching assistant is a popular option.
Film Making Course Offerings
Film Making I-II
Students learn about the process of creating a film from initial concept through editing. Students write scripts, work with filming equipment, and learn editing skills with Adobe Premiere. Students also watch, analyze, and discuss films. Projects include a music video, a 60 second film, a genre film, and editing professional footage. School equipment is provided for students.
Advanced Production
Students enhance and hone their film making skills, tackling complex projects individually or in groups. Students explore an expanded range of genres, including documentaries, visual albums, and more. Students in Advanced Production often submit their work to the Focus on the Arts Film Festival at HPHS, as well as local film festivals. Advanced Production can be repeated, with each year tailored to the needs of each student.
Film Making I-II is a prerequisite for Advanced Production.
Encore Parent Group
WHAT IS ENCORE?
Encore is the parent group that supports HPHS Theatre! Every parent of an HPHS Theatre student is automatically a member of Encore.
WHY DONATE?
Your annual donations to Encore support special programming for HPHS theater students. Monies are used to fund or subsidize special activities and programs including:
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Production rehearsal meals for cast and crew
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Student workshops and classes led by guest artists
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Original performances
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Equipment needs
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Company celebrations after STUNTS and the annual musical
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Awards and gifts to be presented at the Theatre Banquet
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Summer theatrical programs
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Theatre-related field trips, including local field trips, an annual trip to the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, and scheduled trips to New York
Donations should be brought to the Fine Arts Office (E-100a) or to the Theatre Office (E-100).
ENCORE COMMITTEES
Please email Encore co-chairs to indicate your interest in assisting with one or more of the following committees:
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Production Concession Sales. Parent volunteers set up, run and clean up a sale of concessions before each show and during intermission. You are required to be there 30 minutes prior to curtain.
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Rehearsal Meals. Production weeks require long rehearsals and we fuel our students for the challenge. Members of this committee will order food from a local eatery, pick up or arrange delivery, set up and serve the meal, and assist with clean up. Meals are often served on Monday and Tuesday of production weeks, right after school. Obligations on such days last approximately an hour.
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Company celebrations. Following the last performances of STUNTS and the musical, all production members gather in the cafeteria to celebrate. Parent volunteers arrange for food and drink for the students, set up the meal and clean up afterwards.
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Theatre Banquet. Our end of the year celebration is a special time for all involved. In particular, it is time to honor the senior class. The committee helps with table decorations, set up, selected gifts and other related duties.
Please contact the Encore Co-Chairs Lilah Shapiro (lilahs1972@gmail.com) or Rebecca Nathanson (rnathanson1@hotmail.com) to donate money, volunteer for a parent committee, or with questions.
Stage Crew
Stage Crew FAQ's
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What do I have to do to join crew?
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All you have to do to join is show up at any crew session.
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Do I need to have any prior experience to join crew?
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No! We will teach you everything you need to know.
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I missed the first day of crew. Can I still join?
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Yes! Anyone can join at any time during the school year.
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Can I participate in other activities or athletics?
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Yes! Stage Crew students are often involved in other activities or athletics. Students can come when they are not involved in other programs or during their offseason.
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What is the time commitment for stage crew?
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Stage crew meets daily from 3:15-5:00 PM. As we move into tech week, we stay until 6:00. During production week, we rehearse until 7:00. The Encore parent group provides dinner for those rehearsals. More detailed information about specific days and weeks is available on the calendar below.
Production History
This list consists of all productions dating back to 1990. Each year also included STUNTS and the Short Play Festival (One Acts until 2006). The Stunts production history dates back to 2000.
Production History
2022-2023
A Monster Calls, Mamma Mia!, Our Town
2021-2022
Rumors, Chicago, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
2020-2021
Love/Sick, The Best Medicine: Stories of Love and Laughter, The Drowsy Chaperone
2019-2020
Mother Hicks, The Addams Family - A New Musical Comedy
2018-2019
O Beautiful, The Music Man, School for Scandal
2017-2018
The Diary of Anne Frank, Heathers: The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher
2016-2017
Equus, Evita, A Perfect Wedding
2015-2016
The Government Inspector, Mary Poppins, Orpheus Descending
2014-2015
Argonautika, Les Miserables, Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches
2013-2014
An Enemy of the People, Almost Maine, Spring Awakening
2012-2013
August: Osage County, Legally Blonde, Cyrano de Bergerac
2011-2012
On Stars Not Falling, Distracted, Jekyll and Hyde, The Sparrow
2010-2011
Romeo and Juliet, Footloose, A Streetcar Named Desire
2009-2010
The Man Who Came to Dinner, A Chrous Line, Pangs of the Messiah
2008-2009
The Laramie Project, Rent, Because They Have No Words
2007-2008
Full Circle, Urinetown, The Diary of Anne Frank
2006-2007
A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Cats, The Arabian Nights
2005-2006
Metamorphoses, All My Sons, The Scarlet Pimpernel
2004-2005
Medea, Beauty and the Beast, Rumors
2003-2004
You Can’t Take It With You, And Neither Have I Wings To Fly, Fiddler On The Roof
2002-2003
A Flea in Her Ear, Les Miserables, The Laramie Project
2001-2002
Amadeus, Remember My Name, Guys and Dolls
2000-2001
The Secret Garden, One Voice: The Legend of King Arthur, Beautiful Thing
1999-2000
The Tempest, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Music Man
1998-1999
The Miracle Worker, The Heidi Chronicles, Once On This Island
1997-1998
The Seagull, Prelude to a Kiss, Sweet Charity
1996-1997
Hamlet, Beau Jest, A Chorus Line
1995-1996
Cyrano De Bergerac, Lend Me A Tenor, Anything Goes
1994-1995
A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Glass Menagerie, Godspell
1993-1994
The Grapes of Wrath, The Fifth of July, Pippin
1992-1993
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Workroom, Little Shop of Horrors
1991-1992
Romeo and Juliet, Rumors, Brigadoon
1990-1991
The House of Blue Leaves, Strider, Grease
STUNTS Production History
2022: STUNTS Across America
2021: Lights, Camera, STUNTS!
2020: My Big Fat Greek Stunts
2019: Stunts Ever After
2018: Stunts Uncharted
2017: Stunts on Fire
2016: Make Stunts Great Again
2015: Stunts: An Unexpected Journey
2014: Stunts Gets Real
2013: Stuntz of the Living Dead
2012: Stunts in the Name of Love
2011: Stunts on Tour
2010: Stunts in Black and White
2009: Stunts Upon A Time
2008: Stairway to Stunts
2007: Star Spangled Stunts
2006: Stunts Untitled
2005: Stunts on This Island
2004: The Write Stunts
2003: Stuntstasia
2002: SuperStunts
2001: Stunts of a Lifetime
2000: Stunts Then and Now