With evil in the air and crime on the streets, Powell High School’s drama club hit the stage to find their city’s heroes. On Feb. 10, Powell High School students performed, for the final time, “Superheroes Unite,” an elementary-focused play geared to engage the whole audience. 

It was a changeup for the club. In previous years, the club’s winter performance was a dinner theater show, but after some questions about possibly doing a children’s play, the group decided to embrace the idea. To make sure the children it’s geared for had every chance to see it, the club even performed during the school days for elementary students. The cast found a love for overacting to engage, interact and be a memorable show for their elementary audience. 

“With the kids, you’ve got to be big and make big choices,” said four-year club stalwart Joe Bucher, who acted as Schneedle. “The immediate connection kids had to my character just because of how goofy it was, was fun. I feel like they definitely connect more with the characters they have a good time with.” 

Physical expressions and visualizing the story compared to only hearing the lines was something many of the cast members agreed was important when putting on a show for kids. Not only did those on stage engage the audience, but so did the ninjas running throughout the crowd. 

“The ninjas were supposed to be on stage once. Since we’re performing for little kids, let’s have them interact with the audience,” said Brenna Henderson, this play’s stage manager with three years in the club. “They ran through the audience high-fiving kids and every time you’d hear the ninja behind us, all the kids would be whispering and gasping.” 

With a children’s play, the cast discovered the differences compared to their more recent performances in how to engage the audience. And this storyline of heroes and villains demonstrated the need for teamwork for both the students in the audience. 

“My favorite part was probably when the heroes teamed up to fight the real supervillains,” said Alexandra Hurst, a fourth-grade student at Parkside Elementary School. “I actually enjoy whenever people work together.” 

Making a long-lasting impact on Powell’s elementary students, the Powell High School drama club’s performance of “Superheroes Unite” brought students together while finding their city’s heroes. And, everyone left happy. 

“I got to have a lot of fun and bring a lot of laughs to the kids, which is what it was honestly all about,” Bucher said.