“You can be an introvert who just has this burning desire inside of you to do something that’s just a little bit bigger,” senior Breanna Patterson said in regards to the drama department. “I was an introvert and this [department] kind of helped me to break open the shell,” she said. Patterson was the lead role of this year’s fall play, Psycho Beach Party.

Before acting in school plays, Patterson started to develop an interest in speech her freshman year. She had heard about the fall play but didn’t show much interest in it despite her mom “scolding” her. Later, she made a plan to join speech, and she had a good feeling that it would be fun. “Then I never went to the second meeting,” she said. Later in the year, she had two friends who asked for her help in their speech performance. Because of the close relation to speech and drama, plus their flowing schedules, Patterson finally got into both. “It was because those two approached me and repeatedly talked to me, and kind of hounded me, that I got into speech, which led me into the spring play,” she said.

Now, Patterson is on her sixth play which will be one to remember. She plays Chicklet (Florence) Forrest. a tomboy and aspiring surfer girl who also struggles with multiple personality disorder. Chicklet’s alternative personalities include: Ann Bowman, a dominatrix; Tylene Carmichael-Carmel, a southern and ambitious grocery store checkout worker; Dr. Rose Mayor, a cool headed peacemaker; Steve, a male model; and little kid Chicklet, who is seven-years-old. “It’s interesting, difficult, and really fun actually,” she said.

Patterson compares her experience to performing a humorous at a speech competition. Humorous speeches require one person to play multiple characters. “Because I’ve done a humorous before, I had a lot of background knowledge of how to flip characters fast and how to change your voices,” she said. “You just have to know yourself and your own voice to master it.”

Typically, every year before their closing performances, the seniors give goodbye speeches. This year is unique because Patterson is one of the only seniors. “It’s worrying because it’s my last year but at the same time, I’ve had great experiences in our drama department,” she said. “It’s been so much fun working with all these kooky kids.”