All throughout February the Lakeland High School Drama department have been preparing for their yearly performance, even with COVID restrictions. 

This year, the students are doing a production of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrigh and Albert Hacket, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman. The Drama department performed this production Feb. 25 and 24 at 6PM for the public, and also for the 8th graders from Lakeland Junior High on Thursday Feb. 25 during the school day.

The performance for the 8th graders went well, with the younger students being “quiet, well behaved and took it (the play) in much better than I would have expected them to take in for a serious play,” says Mrs. Knoll when asked how the performance went and how the audience was.

The play was chosen this year because the 8th graders usually read about Anne Frank during December, and Mrs. Knoll likes to put together a play that relates to something they are learning about and then bring them down to watch it come to life through the student actors at Lakeland High School.

The script had been sitting in the box for quite awhile, and Mrs. Knoll was very excited to be able to bring it out for this year’s performance.

A lot of work was put into the production by the students. Whether it was putting together the set, working on the sound, putting together costumes and props or being on the stage and performing for the audience.

The set was something difficult, especially with having to show three levels and not having enough room for three actual levels.

With the help of “two amazing carpenters,” Kaleb Brokaw and Arlen Holdahl, and all the students from her stagecraft class, Mrs. Knoll said that they were able to make her idea for the set come to life. Every student put in some type of work to help bring together the set.

For this play, there were many props that needed to be used. From the clothing to the posters on the walls, every piece was thought out. 

Mrs. Knoll’s favorite prop was the old timey radio that is used. She was going to have her stagecraft students create the radio since buying one online would cost her more that she wanted to spend. Luckily, she took a trip to Goodwill and found the radio they are using now, and she later found out it is actually a CD player.

The students in Lakeland’s Drama department have been working very hard to bring this production to the stage in the Commons, and even though COVID is still a concern, they are hoping to put on a wonderful performance with safety measures. 

One measure they took was wearing masks on stage. The actors wore clear face shields to allow the audience to see their facial expressions. 

The actors abided by the mask rule, no one really complaining about the rule.

“We were just happy to be able to perform,” said Ashtyn Howerton, who played Anne Frank in the play.

Even with everything going on, the students have been working hard to do what they can to put together this production for the people in the Lakeland School District.