Chester High School - Flamstead Challenge Yearbook (Chester, VT)

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22 FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE f comedy, which, developing side 'by side with tragedy, was the outgrowth of the fun and merrymaking at the festivals. , Thus the adding of more actors continued until the Middle Ages, when the priests in the churches decided to educate the illiterate by dramatizing scenes from the Bible, ,especially around Easter and Christmas. Gradually the heads of the churches banished these mystery plays, as the dramatizations were called. Men then took up where the priests left off and went into the streets and public squares where they developed two more types, the miracle plays and the morality plays, of which Everyman is one of the best. , I After these, there came a revival of interest in the old classic plays. These were performed by pupils whose schoolmasters trained them for the classics. In 1536 the first English comedy, Ralph ,Roister Doister, was written. Fifteen years later the first tragedy was written, Gorboduc. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, English drama reached its highest point of excellence in S'hakespeare's plays. Then after the Elizabethan Era the excellence of drama 'began to decline. The Puritans closed all theatres, but with the coming of Charles II to the throne in 1660, interest again flared. The chief dramatist of. this period was John Dryden. His works and the works of those who wrote during this period show the coarseness and corruptness of the age. This brings us up to the beginnings of American drama which started with the colonization of the continent. America has produced, perhaps, more dramatic literature than any other country, but much of it has little literary value. , W In 1766 the first American theater was built. Not until after the Revolution was the first American play written, which was called The Contract. The title role was acted by Royall Taylor, the first American actor of importance, who later became Chief Justice of Vermont. American drama has its excellence in the players rather than in its plays. Since 1826, when Edwin Forrest played Othello, America has produced many important actors. These include Joe Jefferson, who gained his fame as Rip Van Winkle, Edwin Booth, Maude Adams, and Julia Marlowe. About 1880 drama- 'ti5sts.of America showed the most action. The writing tendency of these men was to present various phases of American life, and to center the interest of the audience on the native types of character rather than on the plot. Eugene O'Neill is the greatest of American dramatists. His works represent the highest peak in American drama up to the present time. Today, only plays of genuine merit are given on the stage, and only those can become popular. Some plays 'have been produced every night for as long as tyvo..,ye,ars. The reason for the decline in popularity of just playsi' is attributed to the fact that movies, the radio, and television have been invented, and these afford many hours of enjoyment at a fairly cheap rate. Theimportance of dramatics in schools is great. Perhaps the most out- standing value is that it gives satisfaction to the general public to see sons and daughters on. the stage entertaining parents. It is also one of the easiest ways in whichfto raise money for the many school organizations. More than that, the actors are getting experience in appearing before the public, thus gaining assurance and poise, and are learning how to express their thoughts and feelings. They are also keeping the public interested in drama. In the production of a play many 'branches of education are required. Science iirswemployed inthe development of light bulbs for special effects for different scenesg accounting and other branches of business are necessary for the success Y ' - of !.S8ll1l1g,, the play, shop and machine work must be used to make the back-

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE 21 teaching the blind to get along just the same even with a handicap, and bringing encouragement to all those who were disillusioned and discouraged. In peace time many nurses are employed in social service. These nurses make frequent and routine check-ups on unfortunate families, supplying them with help and encouragement iwhere it is needed, and often taking care of sick children, some hopelessly crippled. Always there is the attitude that where there is life there is the possibility that some day, with proper treatment and care, little Johnnie or little Mary-maybe your Johnnie or your Mary-will walk again. Many times a nurse's efforts go unappreciated, but always she has a cheery smile. Ungrudgingly she works day and night if need be. Some nurses are employed in schools, and others assist in camps for boys and girls. Many are employed in foreign hospitals and do their work in foreign lands. Still others work in mental institutions, where the hours are long 'because of the lack of nurses in this branch, where wages are low, and where the surroundings are unpleasant. Work of this type requires much patience, understanding, and kindness for those who are mentally tired or sick. Until just recently a nurse,s hours were very long. Some worked far into the night, never stopping to eat or even to sleep. There was very little recreation and the work was hard, trying even the strongest and healthiest bodies to the utmost, but as in all good things, it takes more than hard work, gruesome sights, and back-breaking efforts to stop a proud profession. So, at last, nursing has made its impression on the world, and this is due to women like Florence Nightingale and Sister Kenney, who have spent,,and are spending, their entire lives helping others and bringing peace and prosperity to mankind. Sister Kenney's job has only just begun, yet she has been doing this same work the greater part of her life. What she will yet be able to accomplish only time can cell. To her, and to women like her, we owe much. Yes, a nurse has a truly important place in the world. Dramo, A Meons of Achieving World Peace SALUTATORY ADDRESS Henry Trombley To fully understand the importance of drama we must know something about the history of this type of literary composition without which we would have fewer enjoyable hours. The forms of drama that we are acquainted with began many years before the Christian Era, in Greece, although Chinese drama and drama from India have been found dated a few decades before Occidental drama began. Long before Christ was born the Greeks celebrated the festival of Dionysus, their god of wine, with music and dancing. The music consisted of songs sung by choruses. This way of celebrating was continued a number of centuries, but in the sixth century a man by the name of Thespis added one actor to the Chorus. Then about 400 B. AC. Aeschylus added a second actor. As time passed, the chorus of about 50 men divided into choruses of 12 men and Sophocles added the third actor. The last two men, Aeschylus and Sophocles, with Euripides, form the great trio of Greek tragic poets. They are said to be the greatest of the writers of tragedy in all time, while Aristophanes was the greatest of Greek writers of

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE 23 drops, while artistic ability is needed to arrange successfully the special furniture required and other necessary stage properties, to produce the proper lighting effects, and to plan appropriate costumes. Since to be a good actor one needs to 'be able to put himself in the place of the one whose part he is raking, be able to think as he would think, feel what he would feel, we can see at once that acting requires a sympathetic understanding of other people. Not only must the actor be in sympathy with the feelings, peculiarities, and oddities of the people themselves, but he must also be acquainted with various customs of dress, and ways of living of the peoples of other nations and races. These may be vastly different from his own, but the more he studies these people and their ways, the broader he will become and the more tolerant he will be toward them. 'Thus we can see that drama can play a large part in helping to achieve world peace by promoting a better understanding among nations, and a kinder feeling toward those who are unlike ourselves. Vermont, Our Torch Bearer THIRD HONOR ESSAY Marion Walker One hundred and fifty-seven years ago Vermont declared her independence, and since that day, began the laborious task of making a place for herself in the world. How proud we are of the tom'b of the Unknown Soldier, the Arlington Memorial, which is the largest cemetery monument of the world, built within sight of our nationis capital, at Washington. The blocks for this monument came from the Vermont Marble Company of Rutland' and Proctor. Before marble was quarried here, the land was a barren sheep pasture, considered so worthless that it was traded for an old horse. Now it has been transformed into by far the largest marble-producing establishment in the world. Barre has the largest granite-quarrying area in the United States. In fact, monuments made fom the dark Barre granite, which can be very 'highly polished, have been shipped to all parts of the world. Granite from Bethel and Woodbury has gone to build some of our finest buildings in the United States. We, of today, with all the conflicts and uncertainty around us, should strive to make our future as strong, dependable, and permanent as Vermont has made her industries of marble and granite. The industry which brings approximately two million dollars to Vermonters yearly is the maple sugar industry, in which Vermont leads the forty-eight states. She not only leads in quantity but in quality. John G. Saxe, a Vermont poet, declared that Vermont was famous for four things: Men, women, maple sugar and horses. The first are strong, the last are fleet, The second and third exceedingly sweet, And all uncommonly hard to beat. Ma le su ar not onl brin s mone into the ockets of Vermonters, but it also P A g - ya g n my P o brings happiness into their hearts in its season. This, too, should be kept as we go out into the world, because life not only needs strength, dependability, and