Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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Drama ls there among us one xx ho xx ould deny that the stage has 'always held some pecuhar fascmatxon for h1m7 ln many of us It lsn t the deslre to desxgn costumes or any other such techn1cal phase or the xvlsh to 'mct or dlrect plays but rt IS the genume thrrll of seemg a play to ex perxence that anxlous moment before the curtam rrses when we are led mto a delrghtful land of make believe the joy of whlch llngers wlth us long after the fmal curtam falls lf one does not expect to pursue a career on the legltxmate stage ln xx hrch the coachmg recexved from hxgh school dramatxcs would prove of endless benefrt there are other advantages to be derxved by the thea ter goers of tomorrow The school theater teaches that class of ardent admxrers mto whxch the majority of us fall how to enloy with understandmg the cultural gxfts to be obtamed from one of the most stxmulatxng forms of lrterature the drama A thorough study and understandmg of drama produces a student body wrth quxckened xmagmatxons better dexeloped bodxes and voxces and a keener apprecxatlon of art and humamty Through the fundamental prmcxples taught nn hlgh school dramatlcs classes one should acquxre such habxts as those of correct breathmg upon whlch a good xoxce depends careful artxculatlon and enunclatxon upon whlch good speech depends and vocal and bod1ly vltalnty upon whrch platform success depends One should dress ln better taste after studylng costummg and make up move wrth greater ponse and grace after studymg pantomlme and express oneself more effectlyely after studymg the techmque of actmg On the other hand one learns how to balance a theater dlet how to choose plays wrsely and m domg so to check the productron of worthless presentatxons From class d1scuss1ons on current plays one IS taught how to judge and apprecrate fxne dlrectmg castmg settlngs and actmg There IS a joy m bemg able to analyze and comprehend these s1gn1f1c1n1 pomts to blend them together and still to keep the beauty and flax or of the pohshed product Students of hugh school dramatrcs acqulre a keener msrght mto hu man nature By obserxmg the emotnons of thexr assocxates m every day lrfe they are bemg tralned to understand people and to cope wxth human problems rn a logrcal and sympathetxc manner The results therefore are txx ofold for ln learnmg to apprecxate the theater one also becomes conscrous of soclal trends and problems for the modern theater rs vltally Interested m socrety as xx ell as the m dnvldual A dramatlc class dlstmctly dxsplays a group actxxxty demandlng patzence. tact sportsmanshlp good nature and concentrated hard work and as m all actxxrty one gets from It xaxhat he puts 1nto mt The values and expernences to be derrx ed from a study of dmmatxcs are so many and xarled that ex eryone who possesses a zest for l1fe wrll fmd mental and moral stnmulatlon and an mcreased sense of beauty Concettma Santoro V 1 1 C V - V c , , .- ' V 7 - . . . . I .- ' V . V . V . . V V - . . . .- D V . . . . . . V V V 1 V V . Y . H . . . V V V V V ' 1 , . V V V - V V V V - C . 1 t V ' c c . ' Y. . . . . V V . . . V V V r C bv C V L pu V V V I V L I. V . C c 'c ' . . c .

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Flne 'arts hwxe been creited for the s1ke of the emotlons they lre dcslqned to express ind 'lrouse Cnc of the most lmportant of these IS 'iff ln the n'lrroxx er sense of the term Thls IS an electlxc xx hlch may be chosen by any student xxho IS lnterested IH the prlnclples of deslgn pslntlng decoratlon sketchlnq 'md color harmonles The alm of thls department IS not to produce ar flStS but to dex elop appreclatlon of art ln all lts phases If dlfflcultles srlse for the student the teacher alds and suggests Smce all posters for sports dances plays concerts partles and all other school actlxltles must be made by the art students the department 15 alvx ays busy Well deslgned and colorful posters are sent each year to the State s Annual Poster Contest The students haxe recelx ed ex ceptlonal awards A xlslt to the Art Department ln 410 xvlll brlng many 'lttractlx e dlsplays to one s attentlon Vlol1 LIUQ What IS danclng7 lt IS not merely hopplng or sklppmg or rex olx lng ln drllls but It IS the lnfuslon of the dancer s personallty the art of the physlcal expresslon of the dancer Whether lt IS tap toe ballet aero batlc or character the dancer must have thls dellcate element lf lt IS to be real danclng Danclng IS sald to be one form of exerclse that IS best for the body lt dex elops a normal body and an alert mlnd No other exerclse can develop ease IH walklng as can danclng Tap danclng lb a modern form of danclng ThlS form of danclnq IS to help one to overcome hls awkwardness whlch sometlmes IS due to the abnormal development of the lndlxldual Another form of danclng IS the ballet In thls type of danclng one 'lcqulres grace ln walkmg and stancllng It IS the most beautlful form of danclng and IS also the oldest Acrobatlc danclng IS the most strenuous form of danclng If ll dancer IS not ln good physlcal condltlon he should not undertake such xx ork The lndlxldual lndulglng ln thls form of danclng should be ln a normal condltlon Ballroom danclng IS a ty pe of danclng that could be classed 'alone although It has been derlxed from the ballet and from the mlnuet danclng Each type of danclng vxlll be of some good to the bodv Exery boy and glrl should be glx en 'ln opportunlty to take part IH some form of danclng Tl e flnest boys schools now lnclude danclng ln thelr cur rlculum as a necesslry lnd 'accepted pslrt of ex ery boy s trilnlng On xxlth the dsnce' M1bcl Reed r Danclng c . r ' c .1 . I A t ,.' . . . ' , '. . .. c c . . , 1 . . Q x , r 7 . .w . . ' c f c ' 7 .' - - . c . . - K. c . . 1 Y . -4 C n 5 -0 Q v . . V . f . 1 ' . C t o l v - V . v ' , f - ' . - 1 c . ' ' . t e . 7 .. c . ' ,' v . , ' c 1. . I ' .' Q Q - ' 'QE E c r ' ' c . ll . .. 7 c . c

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Literature is one of the finest of the fine arts through literature me become acquainted with the thought experiences and interests of brilliant men and women in the different spheres of life Poets open their gen erous understanding souls to us and reveal Joy love sympathy humor and many other emotions which vse should never experience in the com monplace things of life without the aid of such great men as Burns Whitman Frost and many others Essayists criticize praise and comment upon people nature politics the universe Novelists drama t1sts and short story writers give us the story of living dead and lmag mary characters Reading of this type is not only enjoyable but it also enlarges the pupil s horizon by showing how fascmatmg or how cruel life can be Reading means vicarious living In high school students are given a chance to appreciate the beauty of classical literature lt would be necessary to write a book to discuss successfully all the values of literature taught in high school but a brief summary of the work clone in the ohnstown Senior Hlgh School will emphasize some of them It was not until the Nineteenth Century that the short story ap peared as a definite recognized type of literature Mr Heydrick th editor of Types of the Short Story has selected different types of choice short stories for the use of high school students He has included the psychological story the story of adventure the love story the story of the supernatural and the story based on a single event Among these are stories by many famous authors such as Washington Irving Edgwr nox el is studied in the College English Course much home reading is required The House of the Sex en Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an old fashioned novel based on the ln es of a quaint New England family Its theme is retribution The Sir Roger De Cox erley Papers IS an interesting collection of essays by Addison and Steele They are very satiric essays on both rural and urban England and some of them are characterized by deli cious humor Among Emerson s many essays his theory of compensa tion has a strong appeal to many mmds This essay awakens us to the startling realization that no matter how much one strives towards happi ness and perfection one w1ll nex er reach Utopia on earth for Emerson tells us that me must suffer a certain amount of sorrow and pain to com pensate for our happiness Carlyle s Essay On Burns is the flnest of the many essays wrltten about Burns in it Carlyle not only praises and criticizes Burns but also other writers All six of the speeches studied deal largely with the pa triotic spirit of the American people Among them are Washington s Farewell Address Webster s The Bunker Hill Cration Carl Schurz s True Americanism and Henry W Grady s The New South Iohn Hay s America s Loxe of Peace and Ehhu Roots The Pan American Sp1r1t William Shakespeare is the only dramatist who is studied in high school English classes although modern plays are assigned for home English an American Literature . . . . ' . V . . . V , . 7 I 7 I ' 4 U , Y Y ' A I ' I Y l Y r 1 ' I 'i l - ' 1 ' . I . . . . ' ' . F 9 Y . . . . I K Allan Poe, Sir Iames Barrie, and Rudyard Kipling. Although only one 1 l ' .. Y . . . . I