Seventh & Eighth Grade Stage "Children of Hooverville"

When the actors performing the play Children of Hooverville took the stage in Freeman Theatre, it was not with fanfare or flurry. The drama, put on by seventh and eighth grade students, tells the story of the Dust Bowl from the perspective of young people. “In some ways, it’s a retelling of The Grapes of Wrath,” says Deb Mein, Middle School Drama Teacher. “We follow a group of young people, most migrating from Oklahoma to California, as they deal with prejudice, economic strife, fallout from the stock market crash, and drought.” Productions alternate between comedies and dramas, and this year the faculty selected Children of Hooverville as “a chance for students to empathize with regular Americans going through some extraordinarily difficult times in the 1930s,” Mein says.

Students have a variety of experiences when they come to a middle school stage production. “Making sure to challenge the students that have been in many shows and still teach basic acting requirements to those who are new can be challenging,” says Mein. That balancing act can be difficult for the directors and cast when the subject matter is serious. “Children of Hooverville called upon the actors to dig deep and put themselves in the shoes of children and teenagers who went through something horrendous in our history,” says Tim Storey, Middle School Drama Teacher. “The cast rose to the occasion and did a great job honoring those people.”

Despite the seriousness of the play, the cast brought some very funny moments to life. “There were moments during the performances that made me misty-eyed,” says Storey, “but there were scenes that made me laugh, as usual, in a middle school play!”

Great job, Rams!