The MSMS Dramatic Performance class and club had more than 150 students, faculty and parents laughing with its first play of the year, “The Internet is Distract — Oh Look, a Kitten!,” during a two-show run in Shackleford Auditorium on Oct. 19 and 22.

The play featured 11 cast members who worked on the production since September. The production was put on by students in the Dramatic Performance class, nine of whom are juniors experiencing MSMS Dramatic Performance for the first time.   

The Dramatic Performance class and club provide MSMS students with a creative outlet in a STEM-focused environment.

Dramatic Performance teacher Thomas Easterling said the students did a wonderful job producing the first play.

“A lot of people won’t appreciate this, but the truth is that comedy is harder to do than drama or tragedy because it involves making yourself vulnerable in ways that MSMS students don’t always want to,” Easterling said. “They have to pretend not to know as much, or [pretend to] be bad students.”

Senior Ava Grace Noe, the drama club president and play director, also said she was satisfied with the class’s comedic performance.

“By the end of it, beautiful comedians came out of [the production], and they were so great,” Noe said.

Juniors Ruth Albright and Naomi Simpson said they appreciate how the play allowed them flexibility within their roles.

“I feel what made the play so fun was putting our own spin on the characters. That was what made it so special to me,” Albright said.  

Simpson, who previously performed “The Internet is Distract — Oh Look, a Kitten!” in her freshman year at her previous school, said she appreciated the creative spin this year’s play had.

“Seeing all the characters done through a completely different lens was really inspiring for me,” Simpson said. “It made me really happy.”

The class also held a fundraiser to raise money for future productions put on by Dramatic Performance. A raffle was held for a polo shirt signed by Easterling with tickets selling for $1 each. The fundraiser raised $250, and an anonymous donor donated $500.

Dramatic Performance’s next play, “Monsters,” was shown on Dec. 6 and takes on a more serious tone than the humorous nature of “The Internet is Distract – Oh Look, a Kitten!” The play was also performed at Drama Fest hosted by Mississippi State University on Dec. 1.

At Drama Fest, senior Ava Grace Noe won Outstanding Student Director, senior Noah Lee placed third in the Student Playwriting Competition and junior Ruth Albright made the All-Star Cast.

“Monsters” is an original play by Easterling, and he said he hopes to reflect the unique characters of this year’s class. 

“When [the class’s] peers come to watch the performance, they’re going to be watching their peers originate roles for a play that was written expressly for them, and that’s really exciting. I hope we will absolutely pack the Shack[leford],” Easterling said.