Diary of a Wallflower

by Jazzy Alvarado

It all started November 18 at 7:30 pm…

Fresno High Drama recently had their production of the play, Diary of a Wallflower. The play was shown three times, November 18-20, and tickets were sold at five dollars for students and seven dollars for the general public. On opening night, the play ended up at max capacity and they broke a record for the biggest profit they’d ever made. The show started at 7:30 pm each night and lasted roughly an hour and a half.  

The play was student directed by Annabel Vasquez (Senior) and with the lead role played by Fina Vander Poel, a junior at Fresno High. It was produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, INC. Englewood, Colorado. Starting September 21, they rehearsed every Tuesday and Thursday for about two hours along with one Wednesday practice the week of the play. The actors said one of their biggest struggles was memorizing lines and the fact that they did have a couple people in the cast join late. 

Diary of a Wallflower tells the story of Charlotte, a teenage girl, who struggles to find confidence within herself. She is very insecure and there’s a group of mean girls who bully her for it. Faced with troubles and the need to stand up for herself Charlotte must learn to get out of her comfort zone and show everyone who she really is. Charlotte realizes that all she really needs is to believe in herself and she can do anything she puts her mind to.  

Since COVID-19 is an ongoing issue, Fresno High Drama took all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their actors and teachers. They always wore masks, at rehearsals and during shows and they weren’t allowed to do any makeup in public spaces. When viewing the show, the audience was also required to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status.  

The lead role Fina Vander Poel said, “My personal thoughts on the play are that it was amazingly put together and turned out great. My favorite showing of the play was opening night as we the house crew, tech crew, and cast worked so hard and dedicated so much of their time to put on a good play. Mrs. Pullinger and our Student Director, Annabelle Vasquez, especially did an amazing job and were super supportive throughout the entire process.”