Flagstaff High School

All the Drama

Santiago Romero

Ms. Emily Murray teaches the Drama class in Flagstaff Highschool for all students looking into acting. She leads the Drama club with both the Fall Play and the Spring Musical, because she wants to give her students the chance to explore the different aspects of acting while also connecting with her love for being in charge as the director. The Fall Play, Crucible, will be performed in December and the Spring Musical, Hadestown, will be performed in spring.

             In Theatre class, students can focus more on preparing and performing monologues to explore theatre arts and learn more about themselves. The club gives a more laid-back space for games, an environment to get to know each other, and an open judge-free space to act and perform plays and musicals. Both the play and musical will be performed in the Cromer due to better lighting and sound quality. Coconino High School will be invited to join FHS for the play and musical to bond and bring a better theatre community.

If you wanted to get help auditioning for the Fall Play, you should have gone to the Hurley Theatre on Tuesday, September 16th, 2025. If you missed it, you can talk to Ms. Murray about your troubles to see what you can do like joining Crew to build the set for the play or getting a smaller role in the ensemble. You should have picked up an audition packet and a calendar to see rehearsal dates. To practice for your audition, you will have used a monologue given to you on Tuesday. Practicing in front of an audience even if it is small can be very beneficial especially if it is in front of the mirror, your family, or your dog. Auditions began on Wednesday, September, 17th, 2025, and Thursday, September, 18th, 2025, so you should speak to Ms. Murray if you need help after the auditions have happened, especially if you want to audition for bigger roles in future plays and musicals. 

Ms. Emily Murray says, “acting is one of the oldest story-telling art forms which allows for humans to make experiences outside both themselves and the audience to entertain others with emotional release.” While not all people want to entertain others and drama isn’t a required elective, it is available with tons of resources to explore. Some experiences acting outside of FHS would include working at the Polar Express or the North Pole Experience. Theatrikos and Stargazer Collaborative Theatre in Flagstaff are also examples of acting opportunities and building community. 

Nobody has the opportunity to act without the kindness of Ms. Emily Murray. She is a mom, she teaches 5th grade at Kinsey Elementary, and she has always loved theatre. She grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, went to school in Ohio, and now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. She traveled and studied abroad where she explored a lot of cultures. Her mom was a big fan of musicals which is where she got her love for theatre and even watched productions like Annie, Cats, and Grease. To prove her love for theatre, her own dog has been in some theatrical productions. FHS has a stronger theatre production due to the teacher and the students now that we can continue to build this community of actors.