Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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RECEIVING A REPRIMAND from the Wiz- ard (Dave Whyle), the Jester (Tim Hay- den) begins to think about his famous dancing father. 1 Pointing q foil musical MUTE KING SEXTIMUS (Pat McDonald) cannot talk, so he spends his time chasing ladies-in-waiting around the castle. THE NARRATOR THROUGHOUT the play, the Min- strel (Jim Dalfonso) recalls his true version of “The Princess and the Pea.” Dipping his paintbrush into assorted oil col- ors, the artist slowly begins creating a scene. Gradually, his sketch begins to come alive as each dab of color is applied to the canvas. Leaning back, the artist admires his creation. Though at first glance the painting seems complete, the artist knows that in order to make it three-dimensional he must add extra flair. He dips his brush and thoughtfully touch- es up the shading. Again and again, he adds and blends until he is finally satisfied. Like a painting which required hours of labor and dedication, the fall musical “Once Upon A Mattress” needed the behind-the-scenes work to produce a successful show. Before presenting the show on opening night, the 30 member cast spent eight weeks in con- centrated rehearsals where they learned and polished dances, songs, movement and lines. Much of the artistic color had to come from the careful development of character. Court members, from the domineering queen to the moat-swimming princess, found their individual identities and developed each aspects of their role’s personality. “It was important that we all had definite characters,” explained “Princess” Dee Dee Brauer. “Because in order to be able to react, you needed something to react to.” According to Ms. Noble, visual humor, exag- gerated movement and a great deal of energy were necessary in making the fairy-tale paint- ing come to life. “In many ways this show was like a series of cartoons,” she stated. “A pic- ture was painted as we moved from scene to scene.” In order to properly costume actors, decorate the ‘castle’ and promote the performances, an amount estimated at $3677 was spent. Other additives such as script rental, royalties, pro- grams and make-up also contributed to the pro- duction expenses. Ms. Noble explained that she chose “Mat- tress” because it wasn’t a typical musical. “There were a lot of different types of charac- ters for different types of people,” she said. Because the musical portrayed a fantasy in- stead of a realistic story, the roles were defined and created by the individual actors. The panto- miming of a mute king, the antics of a jester and the brave deeds of the chivalrous knight done to protect his damsel in distress were situations that painted a story far beyond a mere fairy tale. — Jennifer Carmichael Fall Musical 15

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WHEN LADY LARKEN (Jenni Carmichael) explains her ‘condition.’ chivalrous Sir Harry (Mike Buzinski) is shocked and decides he must leave immediately to find a princess to pass the queen’s test. DOMINEERING QUEEN AGGRAVAIN (Melissa Daniels) explains to her son Dauntless (Sean McGo- vern) that he must marry a genuine, bonafide prin- cess. DESPITE THE QUEEN’S sleeping potions. Princess Winnefred (Dee Dee Brauer ) finds it impossible to sleep due to a pea underneath the 20 mattresses.

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STATE CHAMPIONSHIP boys’ cross country team members Eric Chilian. Scott Sienkowski, Brett Polizotto, Dave Ziegert, Todd Etzler, John Reggie. Leo Frey. Craig McFarland, and Scott Schroer are honored during a pep session. RECEIVING THE Mental Attitude Award for Cross Country, senior Scott Schroer is the eighth student from VHS to be honored with this award. ADDRESSING THE STUDENT body. Principal Garth Johnson accepts the Excellence in Education award from Mr. Phil Whitman, representative for the G.S. De- partment of Education. 16 Pep Sessions, Convos