About Us
EMMA HARMON
This is Emma Harmon’s first year teaching theatre performance and directing productions at HPHS. She is proud to share that she began her teaching career in the fall of 2019 here, as a student teacher in HPHS’s theatre department. Emma previously taught for three years at Lindblom Math & Science Academy, directing productions, teaching theatre courses, sponsoring their Drama Club, and coaching their Shakespeare SLAM! Team with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Following in the footsteps of her biggest role models, her own high school theatre teachers, she received her undergraduate degree from Illinois State University in Theatre Education and Performance.
“We must all do theatre- to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become.”
- Augusto Boal, Aesthetics of the Oppressed
“I believe in the American theatre. I believe in its power to inform about the human condition, its power to heal… its power to uncover the truths we wrestle from uncertain and sometimes unyielding realities.”
- August Wilson
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Our Philosophy
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” - Thornton Wilder
Since the first curtain rose on a piece of drama, theatre has been an expression of life; a force contributing to man’s spiritual well-being, as well as a means of helping society in understanding or facing some of its problems and burning issues. Theatre’s primary function is to ask society to look “into the mirror” at itself.
It is the philosophy of the Highland Park High School Theatre Arts Program that educational theatre should be a means by which students grow as individuals by examining their sense of self and the world in which they live. This is accomplished through exposure to the diverse humanistic themes presented in various genres of dramatic literature. As they see, think, and develop empathy for characters and situations apart from their own unique existence, they are broadening their understanding of the human condition and adding dimensions to their perspectives of life. In doing so, our students will hopefully become more open-minded and accepting. Theatre can help in preparing for life; it is an avenue to understanding and awareness.
In order for this kind of individual growth to occur, we feel it is important to:
• Choose dramatic literature that reflects the human experience in a multitude of ways.
• Choose challenging literature that presents issues and ideas that inspire an audience to think and feel.
• Realize that theatre reflects life in its’ fullest range; from the dark side–which is often full of sensitive issues and uncomfortable situations–to all of its beauty.
• Be accepting of any and all participants.
• Expect and inspire commitment and hard work.
• Encourage and stimulate collaboration and creativity.
• Maintain an honest and trusting environment.
When all of this is accomplished and strong theatre has been created, our students have hopefully learned about life, the primary goal of all education, by illuminating its many aspects.