Arts and Entertainment

With 2017 coming to an end, here at the Spartan Shield, we would like to look back on the year, and recognize the big moments for Arts and Entertainment for 2017.

Starting in January, Pleasant Valley Drama students competed in Large Group Speech. This event is put on by the IHSSA, in which kids can compete in events such as group improv, ensemble acting, group musical theatre, television news, or even radio news. Last January, two of the improv teams (WACIT and Hatrick) as well as the Spring Awakening Musical Theatre event (All That’s Known) were recognized with the highest honor in speech: All State Recognition. These Spartans had the privilege of performing at Iowa State University. While this was in Large Group Speech, Pleasant Valley also had the honor of being represented in Individual Event Speech at the All State level. Senior Maaz Ahmed achieved All State status in Solo Improvisation, performing at the University of Northern Iowa.

Continuing into February, Drama Students also had the opportunity to perform 12 Angry Jurors, a new vision of the classic play 12 Angry Men. This production, directed by Francis Dunbar, was immensely successful, and was truly a revitalization for this play. “I wanted to create this wonderful production, but allow anyone of any gender to be a part of it,” says Dunbar, “My wife is a lawyer so I really enjoyed discussing the logistics of what would actually go on in the deliberation room.” The student involved with the play won many of the performance awards at the Pleasant Valley Drama Awards, including Best Leading Actress, Best Assistant Director, and Best Stage Manager.

Moving into the spring, the annual District Band Festival was held at the iWireless Center. Ever since the Pleasant Valley Band Program has exceeded 800 students, this massive concert has had to move locations from the Pleasant Valley High School Gym to the now renamed Taxslayer Center. Not only does this concert feature each band in the entire Pleasant Valley School District, but it also features one song played by every single PV Band student: America the Beautiful. This massive work concludes a truly impressive concert, from sixth grade to seniors.

The end of April also featured another play done by the Pleasant Valley Drama Club: Leaving Iowa. This comedy focused on a young man looking back on his family road trips while trying to find a place to spread his father’s ashes. This heartwarming production was very close to director Bill Myatt’s heart. “This family is basically my family,” says Myatt, “And I know that there’s something for everyone in it.”

Moving into the summer, Thespians had the wonderful opportunity to attend the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln Nebraska. However, while the Drama Department attends this festival every year, this year was a truly special experience for those who attended. In the previous fall, Pleasant Valley’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was selected to be performed at the International Thespian Festival. This was an incredible honor, as students were able to perform their work in front of thousands of Thespians around the world, and it was a unique experience for all that performed.

In July, two choir students (Roshni Nair and Megan Maloney) had the privilege of attending the Iowa All State Jazz Festival. These students were ecstatic to attend this wonderful event and had to work extremely hard to attend. The audition process is extremely rigorous, with first round of auditions in which many cuts are performed, as well as some scat solos and improv. After this, recall auditions are posted, and the final list is picked from those lucky students.

August was packed for marching band students, as it was the start of one of the most complicated marching band seasons ever! This year, the band program decided to split the band up into two periods: fourth period freshman and fifth period upperclassmen. This huge change in the Band program made for an even more intense camp, and all of the leaders had to work so much harder with the freshman, as they wouldn’t be with them every day in band like in the past. However, this setup was extremely successful for the rest of the marching band season, and a great last one for the senior class of 2018.

Not only do Pleasant Valley Musicians participate in the activities within the school, but some of them want to challenge themselves by auditioning for the All State Music Festival. This year over 20 kids from Pleasant Valley were selected for the All State Music Festival from Choir, Band, or Orchestra. These students achieved the highest honor for their musical abilities, and continue to work extremely hard throughout the year!

And finally, Drama students participated in the Iowa Thespian Festival this year, winning a myriad of awards, most notably, a first place win from the improv team “The Select Button” and an Iowa STO position awarded to Anna Myatt.

While this year may have flown by, Spartans know that there is much more to come from the talented students of Pleasant Valley High School in 2018.