🍿🎭✨ Cane Creek Middle School’s Drama Club transformed the stage into a live TV lineup on Nov. 4 with its student-written TV Dinner Theatre production.
Under the direction of theatre arts teacher Ellen Wharton, students selected their favorite television shows, wrote original parodies, designed their own sets, and performed musical theme songs as part of a fully student-driven creative process. They provided the audience with an evening full of humor, teamwork, and a joy that came from seeing their ideas come to life.
“The magic of theatre is the rush and the pride students feel when everything comes together,” Wharton said. “My job was just to guide the process. They did the creative heavy lifting. Watching their camaraderie grow and seeing them learn to trust each other as a team was the best part.”
Students began by brainstorming memorable shows that would lend themselves to musical themes, sketch comedy, and parody. From “Scooby Doo” to “Pokémon,” “Dance Moms” to “Jeopardy,” students wrote their own scripts, crafted spoofs, rehearsed musical numbers, and designed their own production elements.
With performances ranging from original sketches like “Baking Bread” and “SpongeBob in the Fish Tank” to musical numbers and commercials, the evening showcased students’ humor, imagination, and willingness to take creative risks. A dedicated crew of sound techs, lighting operators, wardrobe assistants, and stagehands ensured the show ran smoothly behind the scenes.
