Mesa High School - Superstition Yearbook (Mesa, AZ)

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ith 1 gr, Ya, Nl Q- Page 20-Student Life There's More Than Meets the Eye by No l 'D 1 0 l it-i W 1 1 XXX TV-xx i . ai ,,. as-if 4-WM is One can not look behind the scenes of a school play without realizing all the work and time that goes into such a production. First, the right charac- ters have to be picked to fit each part well. Then hours upon hours the char- acters rehearse, trying to get every detail down perfectly. Every move- ment must be timed exactly to ensure the proper effect. The actors are only a few of the many people working to produce a good play. Scenery must be constructed and painted. Each wall or bookshelf has to be carefully de- signed on paper and then brought to life by the use of wood, canvas and paint. Costuming is another essential part of a play. Costumes accent the actors to make them more realistic and hours are spent sewing and fitting these garments. The make-up crew is not to be overlooked either. They transform the characters into real people, or ghosts, as the case may be. Without make-up, the strong lights would drown out all color from the faces, which brings up anothereas- pect-lighting. Lights have to be situated to get the best effect of the moods in the play. The lighting crew must know exactly when to brighten and dull the lights, or even when a color is needed to complete the mood of the scene. This year, a new seating arrangement has been introduced. It is called thrust staging, which means the chairs surround the stage. It worked quite effectively in Blithe Spiritl' and may start a new tradition at Mesa High. Last but not least, any play must have publicity to bring it to the attention of all people at Mesa High. Yes, many hours of spare time and hard work has brought Blithe Spirit to Mesa High. ABOVE: Poster advertising the school play. Poster created on silk screen by Steve Jacobs, who was in charge of advertising. RIGHT: A glimpse of Blithe Spiril's ghost, Sherrie Allred as she pauses for a minute to check out the advertisement.

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Blithe Spirit Springs Laughter From ld G m f . Q J This year, Noel Coward's comedy, Blithe Spirit was presented to the students and public by the Mesa High Drama Department. Heading the production were Miss Marcia Gordon, Drama and English teacher, and Assistant Director, Alice Richardson. The play was based around the problems of Charles Condominc after he employed the services of an aging medium, Madame Arcati, to conduct a seance in his home. The seance resulted in his first wife Elvira, return- ing from the dead and being visible only to him. Elvira attempted to kill Charles so that she could have him in the spirit world, but it happens that she kills his second wife, Ruth. A new type of staging was used this year. Actually thrust staging is rela- tively old and uses one side for back- ground and the other three sides for audience seatingg it is quite an experi- ence for both the actors and the audi- ence. Along with thrust staging, the long working hours of both cast members and directors, and the efforts contri- buted by many, resulted in a play that many attended, giving a full house seating on the nights of November 16-17. ABOVE Llil-'Ti Harriet Webster, the medium in Blithe Spirit. puts Barbara Mosher, as Edith the maid, into a trance. LEFT: l.arr'y Goodyear as the doctor, and Pat O'lIara as Charles Con- dominc, do their best to revive the fainted medi- um. RIGHT: The maid, Edith, introduces Marie Olson and Larry Goodyear. as Doctor and Mrs. Bradman, in this years school play. Student Life-Page I9

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n.:-AL ,,,...o.. ma, 'g'?1W 3'mF itit if T ,W 3 tif 1 as F if Emi, iiiis..S.Mmii vii D M TTT in KH EIIQ3 5 LEFT: Sally Scott, puts up a picture as part of the scenery. Many props and walls had to be secured in the play. CENTER LEFT: Left to right are Patty Chevalier, Alice Richardson, Janet Coombs and Tammy Millet make up the painting crew. CENTER RIGHT: Sherrie Allred puts make-up on Larry Goodyear before opening night. The cast members have many other talents. LOWER LEFT: Shawn Risinger is fixing lights before opening night. There is much lighting involved in a production. LOWER RIG HT: Alice Richardson and Rose' lyn Stratton pull strings to make the pillows and a vase fly upin the play. Student Life-Page Zl