Christel Jean Baptiste also contributed to this article and took all photos.
Most students look forward to the end of the day in order to unwind and enjoy themselves after a long stressful day. For some, that is a nice, peaceful club in which members share their interests and hobbies. Clubs are places to make connections, find friends that you would not usually find in a school day setting, and create a comfortable safe place that meets your needs.
And so, in the next curtain opening sequence, Malden High School welcomed the new Skit Club, a club for those interested in performing arts to enjoy such activities as doing improv, writing and acting out scripts, and wearing costumes.
The club sprang forth from Zahira Acosta and Jingxin Chen—its President and Secretary, respectively. Acosta explained that they drew inspiration from “an activity in English class where we had to perform a skit in front of everyone that we liked and thought was fun, so we decided to turn it into a club.”
Vice President Lisa Guo added that in particular, “trying improv is just something we’ve always wanted to try to get out of our comfort zone, so making this club would help achieve that.”
As such, the Skit Club was approved by principal Christopher Mastrangelo and held its first official meeting on November 17th, in which the officers estimated about ten participants. To increase that number, Acosta hopes to “share more flyers and get people to talk to their friends who might like watching or performing skits. Having social media is also important for reaching out to more of the community.”
On that note, Guo emphasized that the officers are “really open to anything and anyone, as we’re a new club. We welcome anyone with the passion for or has tried improv, but expanding it into something greater is also in the works.”
So far, the Skit Club has only had a couple of meetings, which consisted of activities such as creating skits and playing charades. In the near future, advisor Pasquale DiBenedetto as well as the club officers hope to create more upscale projects for different demographics to enjoy. “As we work towards more formal meetings, hopefully, we can start performances,” stated DiBenedetto.
Freshman Yohanna Tinoco da Silva is helping with just that, stating that she joined the Skit Club not precisely for improv, but because she enjoys “designing clothes and giving ideas for the club” and is interested in “talking about plays and scripts” written by her fellow members.
When or if one would wish to join the Skit Club, one will soon find that it is a place that encourages individual growth. This is echoed by DiBenedetto’s statement that “all the members are very open with everything, and they're all very nice. They all have their own individual interests.”
Beyond club meetings, an exciting event the Skit Club has planned for later in the year is a field trip to a theater in downtown Boston, which they plan to support with bake sales among other fundraising events.
For those interested in the club, updates can be accessed on their Instagram @_mhs.skitclub_ or in Br487, Dibenedetto’s classroom.
