Cumnock School - Chronicle Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 81 text:

ELLIOTT HENSEL MINICK MINICK MINICK, a comedy of youth and age by George Kaufman and Edna Ferber, was presented Thursday evening, November I5, I934, in the Cum- nock Auditorium, under the direction of Helen Crane Hardison. The play concerned the trial of old man Minic-k, played by Elliott Hensel, when he came to live in Chicago with his son, Fred Minick, played by Ben Wolbrink, and his daughter, played by Gloria jenkins. This play, made famous on the stage by O. P. Heggie, and on the screen by that famous character actor, Charles Chic Sale, offered some marvelous opportunities for character work. The three old men parts were taken by Hensel, Guy Moore, and Ezra Smith, who worked as a group, as did the women's club group, ably characterized by Helen Beckwith, Lillian Targen, Dorothy Drew, and Lucile Frank. Two radically different maid parts were done by Ruth Gardner and Lillian Collins, while Ernest Megowan and Beth Collar played two short but loquacious roles as the talkative Dia- monds. Besides the two Minicks, the only other straight roles were done by Marie Brown and Don Hankey. An enthusiastic audience applauded a cast consisting of the follow- ing: Marie Brown LIL COREY ---- NETTIE MINNICK - Gloria jenkins Lillian Collins Don Hankey Ben Wolbrink Elliott Hensel ANNIE ---- jlM COREY - - - FRED MINICK - OLD MAN MINICK - AL DIAMOND - Ernest Megowan MARGE DIAMOND - Beth Collar LULA ----- Ruth Gardner MR. DIETENHOFER - Ezra Smith MR. PRICE ---- Guy Moore MRS. SMALLRIDGE - Lillian Targen MISS CRACKENWALD - - - - - - - Lucile Frank MRS. LIPPINCOTT - Helen Beckwith MISS STACK - - Dorothy Drew 73

Page 80 text:

DRAMATICS Keeping up the fine old traditions of Cumnock, which has always been strong in dramatics, the Cumnock Dramatic Department under the director- ship of Miss Helen Crane Hardison and Mrs. Helen Wright Hovey, is one of the most important activities of the school. Six productions are done each year, four by the School of Expression, and two by the High School. At least one Shakespearean production is done every year. The season started with the production of MINICK, a modern com- edy about an old man, and was followed before Christmas vacation by'THE CHARM SCHOOL, a school play. The first production of i935 was a group of four one-act plays, followed by the Shakespearean production of TWELFTH NIC-HT, and then by LITTLE WOMEN, the High School senior play. The season was closed with a group of six one-act plays written and acted entirely by students, the plays written under the direction of Mrs. Lilian Woody. Inasmuch as the Expression School consists of girls, the masculine roles are ta-ken by boys from the college, high school, and by actors from outside school. Mr. Ben Wolbrink, a Cumnock alumnus, and Mr. Ernest Megowan played leading roles in MINICK. The stage crew, under the man- agement of Elliott Hensel, consisted of Thomas Connors, Leigh Irvine, Ran Hall, Henry Barnard, and Bill Hammerstein. Scenery was furnished through the kindness of the Calkins Studios, and the Otto K. Olesen Company fur- nished lights on numerous occasions. Plays are worked up in a period of from four to eight weeks, and the rehearsals are conducted from two to five in the afternoon and sometimes at night. Only one performance is usually given, and most of the plays this year were given on Thursday night. Rain on two occasions dampened the scenery somewhat but didn't materially affect the actors or the audience, although the latter was somewhat diminished in size because of the tor- rents. Scenery arrives the Saturday beforehand, is set up Saturday and Sun- day, is Iit on Monday, finished on Tuesday, giving the cast and crew one day rest before dress rehearsal. Box sets were used on three shows, and unit scenery, making use of the curtains, was employed on the others. 72

Page 82 text:

ln the midst of a driving rain, which by some miracle was kept away from the scenery, the Cumnock High School presented THE CHARM SCHOOL to a large audience on Thursday evening, December 5, l934, un- der the direction of Helen Wright Hovey. This delightful play has to do with a young automobile salesman with ideas, who, assisted by his friends, undertakes to run an exclusive girls' school along modern ideas of his own. The role of the salesman was carried by Donald Green, who played oppo- site Suzanne Vidor. Two beautiful sets were required, and despite the fact that only a skeleton crew was available, the difficult shift of scenery was made in rec- ord time. The cast was composed of the following people: DAVID - -------- - AUSTIN - iiivi - GEORGE - MR. 1oHNs ELISE - Miss cuRTis SALLY - ETHEL - Miss HAYS NoTsiE - Aux - 74 - Bill Hammerstein Donald Green Leland Moore - judd Cox Ben Sternberg Suzanne Vidor Edith Snyder Wanda Gilman Marjorie Pope june Rhinock Betty Goodrum Laurice Malouf