Niagara high school students will perform six new plays next month thanks to a partnership that involves the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

The school has joined with Carousel Players, TALK (Team of Adults Listening to Kids) Niagara and six high schools to form Commotion, a 12-week drama program that culminates with performances from Dec. 8 to 10 at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in St. Catharines.

Twenty-two students from Governor Simcoe and Sir Winston Churchill secondary schools will perform. Facilitators from Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts – Blythe Barker, Jacqueline Costa, Caitlin English and Trevor Rotenberg – have spent about 240 hours working with the students since September. Gyllian Raby, associate professor of Dramatic Arts, and Pablo Felices Luna, Carousel Players artistic director, lead the project.

“Now in the third year of Commotion, Pablo and I find it more invigorating than ever,” Raby said. “Creating a show for this semi-professional production places enormous demands on these high school seniors, yet time after time they show themselves not only equal to the task but able to surprise everyone with their insights about, for example, the social pressures of the internet, abuses of authority, and balancing individual identity with relationships.”

The students will perform on Thursday, Dec. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9 at 9:30 a.m. and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Reservations are required. Call 905-682-8326 x26.