There are five chances this month to enjoy the next generation of performance art talent from Federal Way High School scholars — and to support access to the arts for all.
The events serve as fundraisers for the school’s drama department to help pay for show rights, costumes, props, competition fees and more. While the department does receive some funding from the district, there is a big gap between that funding and the actual cost of the program.
Holly Rose is a drama teacher at Federal Way High School and the founder and artistic director for the Rosebud Children’s Theatre Conservatory.
One thing Rose loves about teaching drama classes to high schoolers is “watching the passion in these kids eyes light up. That’s absolutely phenomenal,” she told the Mirror.
Local drama departments and theater organizations are invested in cultivating the local theater community, starting early with a program called comp swap, Rose said. This program is a collaboration between local theater teachers who organize it so that their students can see each other’s shows for free.
“I want the kids to have the knowledge of seeing that other show, and also to have them go and support their peers,” Rose said, adding that “it’s just so awesome to watch their community build … I tell you, the best audience is a theater kid audience. It’s phenomenal.”
Showcase fundraising goes toward making sure all students who want to can participate in theatre-related activities and put on high quality productions, like this show from fall of 2025. Courtesy photo.
Impact of theater
“Different kids find their home-away-from-home in different areas. Some kids, they find it in sports. Some kids, they find it in academics, and other kids find it in the performing arts,” Rose said. “Everybody needs to be good at something, so we need to keep all the avenues open for all the kids to find their thing.”
Whether students find their passion in theater or just participate in drama department classes, it all provides a chance to practice and explore interpersonal communication.
“Doing theater, you are kind of studying what it is to be a human being,” Rose said. From analyzing character development and motivation and how that shows up in communication and body language, it helps them build skills around empathy and emotional intelligence.
Students are able to reflect on questions like, “Who is this person? Where did they come from? What’s their background, what drives them?” It invites students to think about these same questions in their own lives as well, to think about their own motivations and reasons behind what they are doing in their own relationships.
“Thankfully, we have the phones banned during school now this year, but everyone is so used to communicating over devices, and we’ve kind of lost the ability to pick up on visual cues, verbal cues of interpersonal behavior and theater teaches that,” Rose said.
Theater also builds confidence and gives students practice expressing themselves.
“The thoughts and opinions that all these kids have matter, and for them to be able to stand up and say, ‘this is what I think,’ it’s important to reinforce that skill,” Rose said.
The upcoming showcases will be an opportunity to see these skills in action and to support the department’s programming.
The showcase series takes place at Federal Way High School, located at 30611 16th Ave. S. in Federal Way.
• Drama Showcase: 7 p.m. Jan. 8 and 9. This showcase will feature a selection of scenes performed by scholars. Students had opportunity to read different scenes, act them out with partners, and then select their favorites, Rose said. More information: https:/our.show/fwhs/drama2showcase2026
• Thespy Showcase: 7 p.m. Jan. 15. Federal Way High School’s own Thespian troop #3541 is heading to the Washington State Thespian competition on Jan. 17, so this showcase will be a sneak preview of the school’s competition pieces. The 27 students who are part of the troop will present at up to 42 different events at the statewide competition, in a variety of events that include everything from duo scenes to monologues to group musical numbers.
“I love it, because it gives them a chance to do the performance in front of people, and kind of shake some of the nerves off so they feel confident going on Saturday,” Rose said.
Participating in the competition does cost money, and the funds from the showcase will make sure that these fees are not a barrier to participation. More information: https://our.show/fwhs/thespys2026
• Musical Theatre Showcase: 7 p.m. Jan. 22 and 23. Federal Way High School is offering both beginning and advanced musical theater classes this year and this showcase will feature group numbers from each class. Both classes also had the opportunity to audition solo and duet numbers as well as small group performances and the best were chosen for the showcase. More information: https://our.show/fwhs/mtshowcase2026
