Malden High School - Maldonian Yearbook (Malden, MA)

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The production put on by the Greenroom this year was Biff and Buffy. Diane DeMarco and Rich Curran portrayed these characters. Here is a behind the scene look at Greenroom. Under the direction of William Faria the cast learns of new directions they must follow. 1 greenroom flourishes . . . An important part of student activities was Green Room. It was beginning to be thought of as an active club, whereas before it kind of got side-shifted. The most notable change that occurred was John O ' Brein ' s retirement as Director. William Faria took over this laborious job. With this change in direction a new view has come about. When asked where he would like his opinions and ideas to take the drama club, Faria responded with many heretofore unheard of ambitions. He aimed for each student to use his her own body as a tool. This means mastery, refinement of both verbal and physical expression. He stressed the fact that performing is a discipline, requiring training and a willingness to work. Green Room ' s atmosphere is somewhat like that of a family. Cast and crew were equals— everyone worked together. Faria made it clear that it was okay to make mistakes. People supported each other and gave encouragement. Faria was more concerned about the performer than the performance. He tried to work on people ' s individual weaknesses and to strengthen their overall acting ability— occasionally at the expense of the plays. All this specialization took up valuable rehearsal time. This problem gave Faria the hope that perhaps Drama could be taught as a regular cousse, as it was in many other schools. But no matter how this matter is settled, it appeared that Green Room was heading towards a bright future. 20 student life

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One privilege that certain students enjoyed was the designated smoking area. It was initially formed to stop the smoking in the bathroom. Teachers and administrators were commonly seen with walkie-talkies in their hands. The walkie-talkies were used as a second phone. when I was a kid . . . Let me tell you about things back in my day. Why, when I was a kid . . n Nearly all high school students must have heard a line like that sometime during their lives, whather from a teacher or a parent. Upon hearing such a comment, most students thought to themselves, Oh, no, here we go again. But if they had listened, they would have realized that things were definitely different twenty of twenty-five years ago. People that came back to Malden High to reminisce about their former days probably wouldn ' t remember eating in the cafeteria. One reason for this was that there was no cafeteria. Students ate out for lunch — in the square, at home, wherever. Sonething else that visiting parents would have noticed were the walkie- talkies that the teachers and administrators carried around with them. To an outsider, these people who walked the halls may have seemed like wardens at a prison, but they were just making sure that things were running smoothly. The walkie-talkies were more like extra phones. rather than secret weapons used to capture students. Though the high school was more modernized, it had lost some of the ambiance that the original buildings contained. The desks and walls were not made out of materials such as formiqa and concrete, which was a great contrast to the beautiful oak that once covered the walls and floors. Although the school may have changed over the years, there will always be teachers, education, and students to be educated. student life 19 t;

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I Bob Harris, Kim O ' Donnell, Paul Cutone, and Andrea Noah illustrate that Greenroom is not all work and no play as they enjoy themselves. Bob Harris, Andrea Noah, and Kim O ' Donnell go over a scene with ideas for a new outlook with the help of stage director Paul Cutone. student life 21