San Dimas High School’s drama program put on an exceptional and emotional production the first weekend of November.
The Bullying Collection is a collection of short stories put into one play. The production included nine different ten-minute plays, written by nine talented playwrights that include the author’s own perception and interpretation of bullying. Each play within the collection is extremely different and moving. Their culmination provides many different perspectives on the pressing matter of bullying. The collection of plays included a vast array, the plays are; Bullies Anonymous by E.M. Bell, Dolphin by Johnathan Dorf, I was There by Sam Guzman, Frosh in the Pit by Alan Haehnel, Reunited and It Feels So Good by Kendra Martin, Gray Area by Ian McWethy, The Uprising by Aaliyah Williams, Say Nothing by C.R. Wright, and Nerdbullies and Other Strange Creatures by Don Zolidis.
The play has been done over 150 times, and each rendition is special to the cast and their leadership, as the nine plays can be done in any order. The San Dimas Drama Club, run by Mrs. Kocalis, included only eight of the nine stories from the original collection. The plays’ order was; Dolphin, Grey Area, Frosh in the Pit, I Was There, The Uprising, Bullies Anonymous, Nerdbullies, and ended with Say Nothing. Intermission was after the skit I Was There which divided the show in half with four short stories in each act. When asked, actor, Ryan Jilbert said, “We chose The Bullying Collection because it was a good variety of funny and serious, while delivering a good message over pretty good writing.” Jilbert believes, “it was the perfect selection,” and many audience members, including myself, agreed.
Ryan Jilbert was an actor in the play. Due to the nature of the play, some cast members had multiple roles, and Jilbert was one of those members. Jilbert was in three of the short stories, including Grey Area, I Was There, and Bullies Anonymous. He played the role of Greg in Bullies Anonymous and I Was There, and Principal Jeff in Grey Area. His favorite short story in the play was Nerd Bullies even though he was not in it because he, “typically prefers the funnier skits, and this one was just very well written,” he also added that there were, “consistently good performances from all of the actors,” within that short story. Jilbert is involved in drama at SDHS because he “always just really enjoyed the scene and this was his last chance in high school to do it,” he also mentioned that he had, “done productions before” but that The Bullying Collection was his first show in a “hot minute” -Senior, Ryan Jilbert.
The Bullying Collection was a truly spectacular performance put on by the San Dimas High School Drama Club. Their next performance is Willy Wonka, a musical that will take place in late January and early February.
