The Lyceum Play: A Behind the Scenes
Photos By: Anabelle Villafana | May 22, 2026 | Senior member of drama production, Amelia Zuniga (center), helps Lyceum performers
Freshman students in the Lyceum program will perform a series of original plays on May 29 during sixth period, sharing work they’ve spent weeks writing, rehearsing, and slowly shaping into full performances for an audience of upperclassmen.
Over the past few weeks, students have been building everything from the ground up. Scripts changed during rehearsal, scenes were adjusted, and students had to learn how to work through mistakes together instead of around them. The process has helped them improve communication, get more comfortable speaking in front of others, and learn what it actually takes to put a performance together.
In an interview, one of the student performers, Victor, said, “I think I've become a little bit louder like with the production. It's kind of fun actually playing another character”.
The Lyceum program uses theater as a way for students to explore storytelling in a more hands-on way. Instead of just reading plays, students create and perform their own.
Influences from writers like William Shakespeare, who wrote Romeo and Juliet, and Gaston Leroux, author of The Phantom of the Opera, show how theater can communicate emotion, conflict, and meaning in ways that stick with audiences.
Photos By: Anabelle Villafana | May 22, 2026 | Stella Shandalove (9th) and Anthony Martinez (9th) acting out their play
Teacher Mr. Abuel said the goal of the class goes beyond performance.
“I think one of the most important things that kids learn from comedy and tragedy is that tragedy and comedy both have very particular arguments about how society should run, they're actually types of entertainment that are actually propaganda”.
As the performance date gets closer, there’s a mix of nerves and excitement building among students. Some are focused on memorizing lines, others on timing and stage presence, and many are just hoping everything comes together the way they imagined.
Former Lyceum student Miranda, now a sophomore, said, “I’m really expecting to see a lot of creativity and a lot of decent acting, I really want to see the moral because it is an important part”.
Photos By: Anabelle Villafana | May 22, 2026 | Ashley Colin Estrada (9th), member of the Lyceum Play, studies her script lines
The performances will give freshmen a chance to present their work in front of an audience and see how their ideas land in real time. For many students, it’s less about perfection and more about finally getting to share something they’ve built together from start to finish.
