Los Angeles, June 8, 2010 - A cheering audience, comprised of the students, parents and faculty of the TCA Arshag Dickranian School, gathered at the Walter and Laurel Karabian Hall on May 27, to enjoy a day of poetry recitations, improvisations and short plays performed by  students. The event was aptly called the Drama Fair.

Fifth graders Lilly Sarafian, Mania Mgdsyan and Lili Stepanyan performing a scene from "The Students' Long Journey"

The whole day program started at 9:00am and consisted of stage appearances by students ranging from 1st through 12th grades. The 1st graders recited solo and group poetry about their heritage. In preparation for their performances the students were first told to interview their parents to gather information about their heritage. Then, with the assistance of their teacher, they were led to write their poems assisted the using the information they had collected. The 2nd graders recited poetry about topics of interest and the 3rd graders recited a type of Japanese poetry known as Haiku's. The 4th graders presented a short play about pirates and hidden treasures called "Treasure Island", whereas the 5th graders performed a short play they wrote about their heritage called "The Student's Long Journey". The 6th and 8th graders followed with short dramatic plays based on movies and video clips they had seen. The 7th and the 9th graders illustrated different scenarios of bad versus good behavior in the classroom, at parties and restaurants. Finally, the 10th graders presented an impelling scene from William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and the 11th graders concluded the program with dramatic scenes based on Henrik Ibsen's novel "A Doll's House".  

During curtain calls, while scenes were being changed, 12th graders took turns to be led on stage in pairs to improvise on topics given to them spontaneously by members of the audience. The audience was told that the actors were performing "Improvisational Comedies".
 
The Drama Fair is an annual event coordinated by the head of the English department, Mr. Ricardo Rocha. Every year, English teachers collaboratively select a topic along with their students that they find interesting and would like to perform about. The Drama Fair offers the students the chance to perform and recite to an audience which in turn helps boost the students' level of confidence and allows them to express their artistic side through their thoughts, feelings, knowledge and love for literature.

Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th grade private educational institution. For more information visit www.dickranianschool.org.

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