Students at Eastwood Collegiate Institute will showcase their artistic talents once again at the annual gala, which raises funds for the Waterloo Region Integrated Arts Program and provides a venue to highlight their music, drama, dance, and art.
Jenna Zettle from Ariss, and Sydney Deveaux from Breslau, attend ECI and will be performing next week with the chamber strings.
Zettle plays the fiddle and Deveaux plays the viola.
“I’m excited to be in it for the first time because I’ve been hearing about Gala from my older brothers when they did it, and I didn’t get to do it last year, so I’m really excited,” Deveaux said.
She heard about the arts program at ECI through her brothers. Similarly, Zettle heard about it from her sister who also attended the Kitchener school. They both chose to attend the school because of its arts program.
Zettle says she’s been playing strings since she was three, and Deveaux picked it up in Grade 7.
Chamber strings is performing a duet with a classical guitarist and the fiddle group is doing a set, along with Highland dancers. Other acts include the chamber choir, concert choir, junior and senior band, junior jazz, and drama acts, to name a few.
Students also auditioned and were chosen to perform solo acts.
“Gala is the biggest thing in the entire year. We hire a professional stage director, and the entire tech crew’s working on it and it takes at least a month or two beforehand just preparing everything,” Zettle said.
The gala got moved to later dates than originally planned due to the educational support staff job action, which forced them to cancel weekend facility rentals at the school for rehearsals. Regardless, they’ve been practicing since September to learn their group pieces, and dress rehearsals started this week.
“It’s really, really fun because performing is fun, but getting to see all the people backstage and experience it, that’s probably one of the most fun parts,” Zettle said.
The theme of this year’s gala is Evolve, to reflect the anniversary of ECI. Some of the acts will revolve around the school’s evolution from its opening in 1956.
Deveaux says the gala also helps bring students together.
“We get to know all the people in the groups too because our groups range from ninth graders to 12th graders, so you normally don’t really know anyone. But when we’re all together for longer periods of time rehearsing you get to know everyone,” Deveaux said.
She notes it’s good for the students who are interested in performing in the future, because it’s such a big show and helps prepare you for what that would be like.
“I personally hope that the gala will help with my confidence in playing, but as a whole I hope we raise money for our arts program. It all goes toward buying new arts equipment and stuff like that,” Deveaux said.
The gala is especially valuable because it’s the only major arts fundraiser for the program, which allows students to “major” in art subjects while taking their regular high school courses.
“Gala kind of plunges you into getting in the rhythm of how the arts program works around here. It builds your confidence because it’s such a big production,” Zettle said.
She says preparing for the event is one of the times that students interact with teachers the most, and they get to know one another better. As well, it’s an opportunity to show students who aren’t in the arts program what it’s all about and gets them interested in what their peers are working on.
“I also just hope that it’s fun because it usually is, and it’s probably one of the most fun things we do in the entire year,” Zettle said.
The gala runs Nov. 25-27 at 7 p.m. at ECI. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. They’re available for purchase after school on Nov. 20, Nov. 23, and Nov. 24, as well as one hour prior to the show.
