Senior and president of the San Luis Obispo High School Drama Club Stephen Zagrodny is known around campus for being a character both on and off stage. Expressions sat down with him to discuss what drew him to the world of theatre and the upcoming projects he and the rest of the Drama Club has planned.
Expressions: What attracted you to drama club?
Senior Stephen Zagrodny: I’ve always loved theatre, and when I heard about auditions for “Hairspray” in my freshmen year theatre one class, I knew that I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t audition.
Expressions: When did you decide you loved theatre enough to become president of Drama Club?
Zagrodny: I didn’t decide to become president of the club, but after I began getting more involved, specifically assistant directing “Guys and Dolls” as a sophomore, Sarah Garcia, the president at the time, chose me to be the next president, along with senior Augusta Holyfield.
Expressions: What shows have you been involved in through Drama Club?
Zagrodny: My first show was “Hairspray” as a freshman, and then “Fools” and “Guys and Dolls” as a sophomore. In my junior year I began to get leading roles, and I was in “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Footloose”, as well as getting to direct and produce “A Very Potter Musical”.
Expressions: What about acting and being on stage do you love?
Zagrodny: I love acting because you can become a completely different person onstage, and it’s so much fun to be someone else or be something so different from yourself. You get to accentuate minor parts of your personality to bring your character to life, and I always love the process of building my character and finding them within me.
Expressions: What new projects do you have coming up with the Drama Club?
Zagrodny: I’m currently in “The Importance of Being Ernest” which will show in the first weekends of November. In just a few weeks we’ll be holding auditions for “Annie”, and then right before winter break I’ll begin directing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, which I’m very excited about. We have a lot more coming this year, but those are events that we’re preparing for now.
