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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Running the drama department at Sir John Franklin high school is the kind of job Andrea Sproxton thought she'd spend years waiting for.

"I never thought I'd have this type of opportunity for my first teaching job," she said.

Andrea Sproxton: New teacher heads the drama department at Sir John Franklin high school.

Sproxton has high expectations for the first performance by her class later this month.

"I'm pretty excited about it," she said. "These students are so dedicated to the program and so motivated to work hard that they just put a smile on my face every single day."

The former Alberta resident is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge with bachelor degrees in fine arts and education.

She chose Charlotte's Web as the drama department's first production of the year. The story, she said, is a classic with lots of great characters.

"I thought it would be a challenge for the actors," she said. "These kids are very talented so I want to foster their abilities as individuals because the craft of acting is something that will help them later in life."

The students in the class are enthusiastic about the program she's running.

"We all got along with her right away," said Courtney Robertson, assistant stage manager for Charlotte's Web.

The student said Sproxton shows a lot of trust in her and the backstage crew.

Sproxton said believing in yourself is a crucial part of acting.

"When the students believe in themselves and believe in the characters they are playing then they're no longer students reciting lines - they're actors."

Jeff Ledrew, a senior at Sir John, is in the drama program for his second year. He said all the work on character development is making a difference.

"It helps us as actors to understand the play better and I think we can be more spontaneous if we forget a line because we're all on the same page."

Student James Crouch said the production requires a serious commitment of time from students to be properly prepared for opening night.

"We spend a lot of time thinking about drama, but it's totally worth it," he said. "We spend our lunch breaks and after school and even time on the weekends working on the play."

"It helps us with acting and reacting and learning all our cues and timing," said Colton Pellerin, who is taking his third year of drama classes. "You can see the people in the program are really developing their skills - some of us, we were really shy at first, but now it's totally different, people are much more confident," he said.

The time to the raise the curtain on opening night is closing fast. The school's drama team began dress rehearsals at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre on Nov. 2. The first public performance is slated for Nov. 14 at NACC.

-For more on the Sir John Franklin high school play opening this month at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, see page 21.