Columbus East High School - Altis Yearbook (Columbus, IN)

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THE ji MOVES Comedy, drama unite with success in Exit the Body On the first day at the quaint New England house, a body is found hanging mysteriously in the closet. Then, in the middle of the night, ten people all somehow indirectly involved with one another sneak around with flashlights, desperately trying to find lost diamonds. Sound like a Sunday night episode of Murder, She Wrote? Actually, the drama production of Exit the Body is a comedy in which the characters are not really who they claim to be. The cast consisted of Juniors Kinsey Katchka, Jim Frakes, Stacy Whipker; Sophomores Tracy McCreary, Stephen Conway, Libby Webster; and Freshmen Stephanie Sharp, Eric Bippen, Sam Harvey, and Eric Moore. Performed in March, the comedy successfully drew laughs from those who attended. For example, the ditzy maid turned out to be a sly undercover agent, and four people claimed to be the same person. These misconceptions along with a sarcastic secretary and an author of murder mysteries combine to produce extremely humorous situations and a complicated plot. Unknown to the audiences, however, a considerable amount of comedy took place back stage and during rehearsals. For example, Katchka who portrayed the role of Crane, once skipped five pages of the script during a dress rehearsal. To make matters worse, reporters from The Republic were in the audience to write an article on the comedy that night. I didn't realize what I had done until I got off stage. Fortunately, the rest of the cast caught on quickly and went on as if nothing had happened, said Katchka. Another example of humor during rehearsals involved the lighting crew and the cast. The light switches on the set were operated by the crew, and the actors pretended to turn them on. Sometimes during practice a cast member would accidently turn on the wrong light, only to see the right one mysteriously turn on across the room. Comical rehearsals were not the only thing that made the play fun to produce, but also the humorous personalities of the actors themselves. When Bippen, who was the real Mr. Hammond, was asked why the production was unique from others he had been in, he curtly responded, I Speakink byMaryHou Arguing with a nosey telephone op- erator is only one of many problems novelist Kinsey Katchka. junior, had to deal with during a weekend at her New England retreat. Stephen Conway, sophomore, holds a gun to Eric Moore, sophomore, as Libby Webster, sophomore. Fresh- men Sam Harvey and Eric Bippen and Juniors Staci Whipker and Jim Frakes look on. 26 Exit the Body

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Assuming the role of Cecelia Sheep. Kim Howard, junior, applies make- up before a performance of “Acsops Falables. Darin Mitchncr, senior, picnics with the girl-next-door. Tammie Estes, junior, on his living room floor dur- ing a production of “Butterflies Are Free.” After much arguing. Darin Mitchncr. senior, and Amy Holmes, sophomore, realize they must re- spect what the other needs. Butterflies rates funny clever, and uplifting adult. Senior David Williams, who plays the part of Ralph Austin, added to the problem. Working with a small cast required more concentration because their were not as many characters to play off of. The smaller cast provided for more intense relationships between the characters, Holmes said. Getting into character was a fairly easy process for Estes. Estes and her character, Jill, proved to have much in common. She ate constantly, was very outgoing, young and could not wait to get out on her own. That's very like me, said Estes. Holmes character, on the other hand, required a little more research into how the character would act. A most difficult part of the play for me was relating to the ties a mother feels for her child, said Holmes. by Kinsey Katchka Although the cast of Butterflies Are Free performed for small audiences, the people who did attend enjoyed the clever dialogue and a humorous portrayal of everyday life. Funny, light and uplifting this play added variety to the other plays this season, said Ray LeBlanc, director. Butterflies Are Free , a comedy set in present-day Greenwich Village, depicted the events taking place in the life of Don Baker, Senior Daren Mitchner. In the process of growing up, Don faced obstacles presented by blindness and an over protective mother, portrayed by Sophomore Amy Holmes. Mrs. Baker had trouble accepting Don's friends-- primarily Jill Tanner; the aspiring young actress portrayed by Junior Tammie Estes, trusting his judgement, and simply accepting him as an Butterflies Are Free Student Life 25

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Clark’s Bars members Pat Moffatt, sophomore. Richard Harper, junior, and Sophomores James Vincent and David Ward high step to the beat of the musical number Hello Dolly. A selection from the musical Grease. takes Molly Sullivan, senior and Jim Frakes, junior, back to the 50‘s as they sing “We go together . Dance, band, and choir brought together in Follies Energy vibrated throughout the Performing Arts Department. The choir sang through well-known warm-ups, w hile just below, the dance troupe stretched out and practiced smiling. Cheesy grins! , yelled their teacher. Smile so hard it makes you sick! Across the hall jazz band members tuned their instruments. All their practice would be made worthwhile when the curtain opened and they would entertain the audience with the music, singing and dancing of Broadway. More than 130 participants worked together to stage the musical tribute, Broadway Follies'The production consisted of pieces from such musicals as Chorus Line. South Pacific and Hello Dolly, performed by students as well as a quintet of faculty men. These selections were grouped into three themes: people, love and places. Many students had the all to themselves in a solo or shared a song in a duet or trio. Molly Sullivan, senior, who did a solo from the musical Cats, said, Everthing suddenly came together when I got out on stage. My nerves turned into energy and I think the audience saw my confidence. It was a great feeling. A beneficial part of the production was that it finally brought the three separate groups of the Performing Arts Department, dance, band and choir, together to become one large group working together. Choir member Junior Leslie Tindell said, This was one of the most exciting productions I’ve been involved in. Bringing all three performing groups together made it much more exciting because there were so many different people and talents to work with. by Rebecca Schuyler “Anything you can do. I can do better sing Brian Lane, junior and Kim Jack- son, senior. This comical duet was a piece from the musical Annie Get Your Gun. opportunity to grab the limelight “Broadway Follies ’ Studeni Life 27