Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 24 text:

12 SAMARA Six Upper and VI Matric challenged VA and VB in Volley-ball and managed, with great difficulty, to win. This sport has been very popular among the juniors and seniors this year. As usual, we had a skating rink which was made good use of by both boarders and day girls. We were fortunate in having Mr. Penault to give ski lessons. This has been a most successful sports year, and it has fulfilled all our expectations and hopes. May there be many more like it. Mary Wurtele. ON April 9th, the Senior Dramatic Class gave its presentation of the Chinese play Lady Precious Stream to a most res- ponsive audience, with great success. Her Royal Highness, Princess Alice honoured us by her presence and we should like to express our sincere thanks to her. The play was a difficult one but fun to work at and we are most grateful to Miss Graham for her splendid direction. The proceeds were donated to the International Students Service. The house plays were extremely well chosen and well put on. Fry, who gave the winning performance, presented A Christmas Carol in which much new talent was displayed. Keller came second with an amusing one-act play called The Lift that Failed . Nightingale ranked third with ' Time ' s Visitors , a play which offered a large scope for characterization. All these plays showed many promising actresses. The Keller play was given at the Bazaar several days later as the Fry play was con- sidered too long. The Intermediates, aside from taking part in Lady Precious Stream , have been working on A Midsummer Night ' s Dream which we hope to see before the end of this year. We are indebted to Mrs. George Jackson of the Drama League, Miss Joan Jackson, Mrs. G. Arnold Murphy, Miss Edith Spencer, Miss Amelia Hall, Miss Nadine Christie and Miss Graham for the skilful make-up which contributed so much to the success of Lady Precious Stream. We are most grateful to Mr. Kendall MacNeil who gave us the following criticism in the Ottawa Citizen. We should also like to thank Mr. MacNeil and the Citizen for allowing us to print it here. Elmwood Pupils Present Chinese Play With Skill Of all the fourteen annual plays of Elm- wood School which it has been this re- viewer ' s pleasant duty to report, none has seemed more difficult to criticize than this year ' s production. Lady Precious Stream, which was presented in the school audi- torium before H.R.H. the Princess Alice and the largest audience which we recall in the years we have been attending these excellent

Page 23 text:

SAMARA 11 ANOTHER school year is nearly over and so we take this opportunity once again to thank Miss Snell, our Games Mistress, for making our gym and sports so enjoyable. Miss Snell has given much time to both Juniors and Seniors, and we certainly ap- preciate it. The junior members of the houses have taken a greater share than usual in Inter-house Sports. There have been both Junior Basket-ball and Junior Volley-ball teams, and at least one junior has been included in the House Badminton teams. Sports Day, last year, was held on a beauti- ful June morning. Nightingale proved herself the best house in the line of sport by capturing the Sports Shield. We con- gratulate the winners, who are as follows: Senior Sports Cup — Helen Christie Intermediate Sports Cup — Paula Peters Junior Sports Cup — Elizabeth Patterson Preparatory Sports Cup — Ann Maynard Inter-house Relay — Nightingale Inter-house Obstacle - — Fry We were very grateful to Mr. Archdale for letting us use the Ashbury gym on two occasions when we had energetic games with the Old Girls. The first of these ended in a tie. At half time the Old Girls seemed to be definitely winning, but with the arrival of Mrs. Buck, who seems to be the mascot of the Elmwood team, we greatly improved and managed to tie up the game. Excited shouts and shrieks resounded from the gym during this game and also during the next, which Elmwood again managed to win. Although we were not able to play basket- ball at Elmwood during the winter, we enjoyed our games in the autumn and spring. Fry was fortunate in winning the Inter- house Basket-ball, with Keller a close second. Elmwood again entered a tennis team in the Ottawa Inter-scholastic Tournament. We first played Lisgar Collegiate and were successful in all sets. By beating the Gloucester Street Convent, Elmwood was able to retain the shield. Some very good games were played with the latter team, and Elmwood managed to beat them in all but one encounter. The team was as follows: Noreen Haney (Captain), Anne Powell, Mary Wurtele, Janet Edwards, Anne Mac- Kinnon. Last year, Noreen Haney was the school tennis champion; Joyce and Noreen Haney together were victorious in Senior Doubles. The Intermediate tennis title was captured by Janet Edwards; Paula Peters and Janet Edwards won the Intermediate tennis doubles. Keller won the Badminton tournament this year. Miss Snell has been busy coaching many enthusiastic badminton lovers, among whom are many juniors. As a result we have guite a number of promising players. The results of the badminton tournament are as follows: Senior Badminton Singles — Noreen Haney Senior Badminton Doubles — Noreen Haney — Mary Wurtele Junior Badminton Singles — Gretchen Mathers Intermediate Badminton Singles — • — Gretchen Mathers Intermediate Badminton Doubles — — Gretchen Mathers — Margot Peters

Page 25 text:

SAMARA 13 demonstrations of the proficiency of the senior dramatic art class of the Rockcliffe school. The reason for this difficulty is not far to seek. Lady Precious stream is an old Chinese play done into English, as the pro- gramme said,by S. I. Hsiung, and since it was given in traditional style, there are no standards by which we can measure it. It was a distinct departure from plays of other years which, as we remember them, were all Occidental in atmosphere whether they were classical Greek, Shakespeare, or of the modern stage. Confession is good for the soul and we might as well say here and now that the traditions of the East and in par- ticular of Chinese poetry and drama are something of which we have a great deal to learn. Delightful Offering However, it does not need that knowledge to say that the play was most delightfully done and that the very high standard which the senior dramatic class attained in the past was thoroughly maintained. The large au- dience thought so too and found the Oriental traditions of stage presentation decidedly novel and refreshing. For one thing, there was no scenery as the West understands it. Much is left to the imagination although each scene is carefully explained by a narrator and the actors taking the audience into their confidence. The appearance all through the play of the pro- perty men placing chairs for the actors and performing many other duties not seen in our productions, once the curtain is up, was the cause of amusement at first but so unobtrusive and efficient were their mo- vements that one soon got used to this essen- tial difference, so much did they help the action of the play. Productions in other years had larger casts, thus permitting more than one girl to be seen as the same character. This year it was different, the same players being seen throughout. While this did not give so many the opportunity to show what they had learned of dramatic art from their extrmely able and clever directress and mistress. Miss Miriam Graham, it made for a better under- standing of the play by the audience. Excellent Diction Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the presentation by the cast as a whole was the excellent diction of practically every one of its members. Well modulated voices and splendid clarity of speech were the rule. Absence of scenery called for much pantomime (amusing at times) by the players. Pantomime is the most difficult phase of the dramatic art and too much credit cannot be given for the ease and naturalness with which it was done. Costumes were gorgeous and lighting good. With the property men ever ready to step in at the proper moment with a chair, or other property, the players never had to worry as to what their proper position on the stage was; consequently there is little to criticize on that score. Expressive Hands Individually, the honors went to Jacqueline Workman as Lady Precious Stream, third and favorite daughter of His Excellency Wang Yun, prime minister of China, who gave up luxury and ease to wed the man of her choice, Asieh Ping-Kuei, the gardener, who in this fairy tale of Old China, became a king. Miss Workman ' s performance was one of appealing charm. It was full of delicate feeling and showed complete grasp of the role. Her use of her hands, which were the most expressive we have seen in a schoolgirl player, was remarkable. Anne Powell, as His Excellency the Prime Minister, gave an authoritative performance fully compatible with the dignity of high position in the East. Anne MacKinnon, as the conceited and traitorous Tiger General Wei, injected a touch of comedy without overdoing it at all and Kathleen McGreer, as his wife. Silver Stream, was also out- standing. Lette McGreer, who had the role of Asieh Ping-Kuei, Precious Stream ' s gardener, sol- dier and royal husband, was also excellent, bringing out each necessary characteristic with assurance. She had to be subservient, arrogant and romantic and did each well. Mary Osier was Madame Wang and she, too, filled her part to perfection. Other roles were Su, the Dragon General, played by Betty Caldwell; Golden Stream, by Margaret Ann McKee; the Princess of the Western Regions, by Elizabeth Gilchrist, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, by Janet Edwards. Noreen Haney and Joan Pater son were the indispensable ' property men. A special word must be said for the work