With Dave Huber moving on to be a full-time actor, there was a big hole to fill Hoover’s Ohana. But the hole has been filled recently with Anna-Marie Schmidt, the new drama teacher at Hoover High School.

Schmidt has had plenty of past experience with working with a variety of people, in a variety of workspaces.

“This is my fifth full year as a full-time drama teacher,” she said.

“What got me into teaching was, I was working as an artist, an actor, dancer, and I was going to schools to teach workshops as an artist in residence.”

Schmidt’s favorite form of theatre is improvisation, a different type of theatre that allows the actors to be creative with their actions, using material from the top of their heads. She plans on using improvisation to keep her students engaged in her class and to allow more timid students to come out of their shells.

Schmidt plans on putting on many types of productions at Hoover that can further interest students in the art form.

“I still plan to do one-act plays and full-length plays,” Schmidt explained when asked about what type of productions she’d be putting on at Hoover. “I’m also very excited about bringing musicals back.”

In regards to Drama Club, Schmidt also is planning on directing a production, making the club more immersive than it ever was before.

“The plan is that Drama Club will put on some type of performance, but we’re still navigating what type of performance that will be,” she said.

When student Ava Selway, a current drama student, was asked about her current thoughts on Schmidt, she said, “She seems well-educated and ambitious, definitely a change that I see as positive.”

Additionally, when student Joshua Keim, also a current drama student, was asked about his thoughts on Schmidt, he said, “She is ready to get started and has a great pool of talent to make it happen.”