by Devin Wallace. @thedevinwallace.
WEST VALLEY, NJ - The spring production of Cinderella will look a little different at West Valley High School, as the entire cast will be comprised of Seniors who are desperate for a single extracurricular credit to graduate high school.
“We welcome students of all stripes,” said director Clayton Biff, while reminding a group of varsity basketball players it’s called "intermission", not "halftime." “From chuckleheads who spent their school year exclusively taking P.E., to overachievers desperate to graduate a semester early, this production is a welcome home.”
Jaxson Maynes, who spent the past four years doing Independent Study Homeroom, said audiences should have the same high expectations for the performance.
“We have so much time to rehearse, because this is my only class besides eight Study Halls,” said Maynes, arriving fourteen hours late to school. “The director even asked if I wanted to learn an instrument to play live, but I already have my music credit, so I said no way - slap another Study Hall on the schedule.”
Principal Joan Darby said it was a welcome change for the school, and one she hopes to see more of in the future.
“For too long, the theater has been the space of students who want to be there,” said Darby, after mistaking the cast of students she’s rarely seen for the school’s custodial staff. “We need representation for the slackers, schedule-stuffed overachievers, and kids way too into Mock Trial willing to put on a tree costume or poorly operate the brightest light in the building. I promise you: there will be so many reluctant trees.”
While most support these changes, there has been pushback to a related proposal choosing the football team solely from students who can do a shuffle-ball step heel into a single buffalo.