Cathedral High School Theatre

Quality instruction in all areas of theatre performance with as many students involved as possible is the basic premise of the Cathedral theatre program. Hands on production experience is paramount in the learning process. Consequently, the Cathedral program is considered a performance rather than a lecture program. Emphasis is placed on commitment, responsibility, cooperation, and teamwork in addition to all of the information necessary to develop knowledge of and appreciation for the theatre arts. Considering that the most important things for students at this age are participation, acceptance, and acknowledgement, no student is ever turned away from a Cathedral production either in acting or tech. Any student who wants to be involved, may be involved. Productions for each season are chosen to reflect this policy. Central to the Cathedral philosophy is for the students to “take ownership” in all aspects of the program from design to performance. This carefully constructed framework of experience, training, and experimentation helps provide the leadership, knowledge, life skills, and appreciation of the arts to successfully enable students to contribute to cultural society.

Aspects of Cathedral Theatre

Cathedral Theatre provides extensive coverage of theatre arts. The theatre program, comprised of nearly 300-400 students (25-30% of the school) annually, performs a total of five shows: Fall Mainstage, Children's Play (student directed), "Rookie" Showcase, Spring Musical, Black Box Series (5 shows), and ComedySportz Improv. Cathedral Theatre prides itself in a no-cut policy so that all students who want to participate, can participate.

Between 5-10% of theatre graduates go on to major in college theatre, many of whom are members of the International Thespian Society. Extensive scholarships are available to students, with nearly $9,800.00 distributed in 2009.

The threatre program at Cathedral High School works with junior high school theatre programs, hosting summer drama camp, giving special matinee performances, aiding drama programs, and providing free tickets for underprivileged students. Among countless others during the 2009-2010 season, Cathedral theatre acted as production aids for Haston Hebrew Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Louis deMontfort, Nativity School, St. Simon, Christ the King, and the Carmel Repertory Theatre.

In addition to school outreach, Cathedral Theatre does all it can to help out the community. Past projects include fund raising productions for Day Nursery Auxiliary of Indianapolis, a clothing drive for Turkish earthquake relief, a supplies drive for St. Vincent Hospice, and more than 100 volunteer hours at St Vincent DePaul Society.

Fun Facts

Voted as one of the top 25 theatre programs in USA, 1999 (American H.S. Theatre Festival)
10 years of ComedySportz High School League improvisation
Recipients of Purdue University Performing Arts Scholarship 3 of the last 6 years.
Voice-over radio and TV actors
Movie script workshops
Movie shoot for film festival
Multiple presentations and performances for Indy Fringe Festival
Street Performing Troupe, Indy Fringe
State Thespian Conference Winners 2009: 1 Scholarship; 1 BEST IN SHOW; 2 Superiors; 1 Excellent
5 award winners out of 916 entries in the Tony Awards Photo Contest