Waldorf honors class embraces greek culture in play

By Guzel Tuhbatullina

Honors English Composition class mainly concentrated on Ancient Greek life and their beliefs. The students had to emulate the debates in the assembly that were ruled the city of Athens.

Each student was given a character that they had to develop throughout the class. They had to propose views of their character through their speeches and attempt to pass them as laws.

“Our public speaking was great and there was always heated debate, even about whether the assembly was acting as a true democracy. It was definitely fun and laid-back while still making us work,” says Gretchen Burnette.

Before students get to do their final project they got to have some fun. They had to present a small play that showed the assembly meeting. The script for a play was composed by one of the students, Grace Huizenga. When composing the script she decided to focus on the atmosphere that was created in class while living the greek life.

“So I decided to do an exact reference and to mock the assembly in general,” Huizenga said. She also made sure that she included their inside jokes and phrases that were used by the students in the class.

Plato, for example, the character that thinks that an unexamined life is not worth living. As Madina Tuhbatullina, the portrayer of this character says “He makes people question their decisions and actions all the time.” In one of her speeches, Madina mirrored Plato by asking logical questions “Now, are god’s all-powerful? Are they able to bring all we deem impossible to life? If yes, how can we serve them?”

“I was a little worried that people will be apprehensive being outside of comfort zone and that was the main reason why I decided to revolve it around the assembly meeting so they will feel comfortable doing it on the stage,” said Huizenga.

“I thought the play was great! It was funny and our characters represented us in a comedic way,” added Burnette.