Lauren Farberman
Executive Theme Editor
Mira Costa’s Drama and Tech Department held its annual Holiday Benefit Show on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the small theater where students performed dances, songs and comedy acts to raise money for Adopt-A-Family, a program that provides holiday presents to children from low-income families.
The Drama and Tech Department started the Holiday Benefit Show in 2012 with the original intention of donating the proceeds to either the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation (MBEF), Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) or MBX. After the first year, the focus of the show shifted toward Adopt-A-Family, Drama and Tech Department Head Cary Jordahl said.
“The students in Drama and Tech all really believe in giving back and being an open and accepting group so it just seemed natural to shift towards benefitting Adopt a Family,” Jordahl said. “The students barely needed any guidance for the show, and everyone is always on board each year to use the proceeds for Adopt-a-Family.”
The Drama and Tech Department raised $800 for its eight member family for Adopt-A-Family between the show’s $5 dollar tickets and donations from students, their families and the show’s attendees,
“We raised more than we originally intended, so now we can get our family everything they want on their holiday wishlist and hopefully make their holiday season extra special,” senior Brinn Borowsky said.
Seniors Ariana Derambakhsh, Noah Geller and Tiffany Smith were in charge of auditioning the pieces for the show and then creating the show order. Derambakhsh says students in all grades were welcome to participate in auditions.
“Noah, Tiffany and I wanted the show to be full of variety,” Derambakhsh said. “We chose acts that were not only captivating, but also unique from the rest, to ensure that the audience remained interested in the entire show. We also wanted the show to be full of as much ‘heart’ as possible, so we specifically chose acts that held meaning whether in a song’s lyrics or the overall meaning of an act.”
After callbacks following the Nov. 29 auditions, the list of acts in the show was posted and students were required to rehearse outside of school. A two hour walk-through rehearsal was held on Dec. 1 to rehearse and set the technical aspects such as lighting and music. On Dec. 4 there was a complete run through of the show with costumes and makeup.
“Some people may think it is easy for Drama and Tech to put on a performance, but it is a lot of hard work,” Jordahl said. “Students put in a lot of time leading up to show rehearsing and making sure the lighting and music was ready and set for the show.”
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