Diamond Bar High School’s Beginning Drama Club showed much enthusiasm at its Dec. 17-18 showcase performances, but when it came to the jokes, there were only a few honest laughs from the audience. DBHS staff members were scheduled to make an appearance on stage; however, they canceled at the last minute.

All of the skits were made into games that were very focused on audience involvement, possibly too focused. More structure would have benefited the actors, and created a more memorable performance over all.

The production opened with an introduction of the actors. After, they split into two teams of six, and members in the audience had to shout out a topic that the actors would have to work with. One member from each group improvised an action that had to do with the topic.

The first sketch of the night did spur a few laughs from the audience. No matter how wacky the topic was, from “Florida,” “food,” and “Star Wars,” the members on stage managed to turn it into a routine until the other team gave up.

Even though this was a team activity, like many of the other skits were, no score was ever kept, nor winning team ever announced. This made it frustrating for audience members to keep up with what was going on, and where the show was going from there.

However, even though the skits were flawed, the cast was very energetic and managed to remain that way throughout the whole show. The beginning drama students were being directed by the advanced drama department, which allowed students to work in different positions of the production.

Actors such as sophomore Alyssa Murrietta shined on stage while incorporating their own personality in every character performed.

Another notable setback of the showcase was the fact that the teachers fell through at the last minute. This left the students to fill their places and create their own laughs, without help from the DBHS staff.

Although the show did not meet all my expectations, it was nice to see different personalities come together to build something. Even if the activities were not well thought out, their jokes were genuine and spontaneous.

Considering how impressive past DBHS drama performances have been, my expectations might have been a bit too high. However, the performances offered a chance for beginning drama students to shine on stage.