On Friday, May 22nd, 2026 during second block, the AP English Literature students at WCHS held their annual Literary Tea Party. This is an AP Lit tradition at the end of each school year in which each student performs a beverage scene from a work of literature for the class. Scenes can include any work of literature, from Harry Potter to Little Women to The Great Gatsby, as long as they are between 3 and 4 minutes long. Along with reading the scenes, the students create one slide explaining the scene’s plot, characterization, setting, and theme.
Arguably the most anticipated part of the Literary Tea Party is the actual “tea party” element: students all dress nicely and bring food and drink to share with each other while reading their beverage scenes. Students this year brought their own teacup, either from their own personal collection or purchased from a thrift store.
When interviewed prior to the tea party, 11th grade student, Tessa Montgomery, said she most looked forward to, “…seeing other peoples’ interpretations of their chosen works. I also am excited to see what everyone brought. I think it’ll be fun to see more about our classmates’ personalities.” Additionally, 11th grade student Sierra Curtis responded, “I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere, especially since we were such a small class this year, I can tell we’re going to have a lot of fun!”
On the day of the tea party, the class moved their desks together to create a long dining table, placed a pink tablecloth over it, and even added some artificial flowers. As the students read their scenes aloud, some called their fellow classmates up to read with them, some read on their own, and some even called for audience participation! Along with the dramatic readings, the class also enjoyed a great variety of snacks, such as brownies, fruits, cake pops, and of course: tea. Perhaps the students’ only complaint, however, was the watery, room-temperature apple juice that seemed to disgust everyone but was brought because it fit the theme of one of the dramatic readings. Apple juice aside, the party was overall a success.
After a long year of hard work and preparation for the AP Exam, the Literary Tea Party was a great way for the AP Lit students to close out the school year stress-free, while still engaging with various works of literature. AP Lit teacher, Mrs. Boss, says she “wants students to have space at the end of the year to decompress after digging deeply into analysis all year to simply enjoy stories, ideas, and conversations and to remember that literature also exists to connect people and to bring us joy.” For future AP Lit students, this tea party is definitely a major event to be looking forward to next year.
