Monacan High School - Legend Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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26 Readers Theatre An Evening of Storytelling Brims with Professionalism What is a multiple? How does one person act out a sto- ry with many characters? Can one merely utilize the voice in a dramatic interpretation or are body movements accept- able? These are a few of the questions that Monacan’s speech students and foren- sics team tried to answer with the March production of ‘An Evening Of Reader’s Theatre’”’ the evening’s entertainment was, overall, outstanding and brimmed with professionalism. All acts, both group and indi- vidual, deserve mention along with the “‘behind the scenes”’ lightmen and setting design- ers. The multiple acts, groups of five to ten persons presenting a central theme through a col- lection of poems, stories and songs, were written and di- rected by the students. Themes included nuclear war, runaways, and handicapped people. The multiple ‘‘Born Losers’’ lent comic relief be- tween the more serious groups and was extremely well received. The final multi- ple, ‘‘Moonshadows,”’ proved itself deserving of the many out of state honors which it has received this year. All of the multiple participants were unerringly professional and the hard work and long hours of practice put into their acts was evident. The individual and duo acts were also impressive. On the humorous side Chris Hughes’ Who Are You? Portraying two elderly people, Laura Leesburg and Richard Corbett bicker back and forth about who they are and who they think the other is. ‘Playground’ and Richard Corbett and Laura Leesburg’s “I’m Herbert’? were both suc- cessful and evoked waves of laughter. More serious sub- jects included Patrick William- son's ‘“‘Runaways”’ and Rich- ard Corbett’s. ‘‘In Cold Blood”’ Laurie Maxwell’s storytelling brought down the house. Her interpretation of children’s ac- tions as well as her voice changes were uncanny. The lights were very effec- tive at producing a variety of moods. Special effects such as stars and skulls added much to the performance. The set, a random array of white blocks and platforms, added concretness without distract- ing the audience’s attention from the acts. As a whole, the Reader’s Theatre was a great success. The work put into the total product was evident in the poise and confidence that all performers displayed. View- ing the unique talents of these Monacan students left the au- dience looking forward to a re- peat performance next year. However, the 1984 production will be a tough act to follow. Bringing It All Together. Hard work and long practices led to outstanding multiples in the Reader’s Theatre.

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From The Shadows Comes Talent To Be Remembered Monacan’s Fifth Annual Tal- ent Show took place on Satur- day, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre. This was a show to be remembered. It was entitled From the Shad- Ows and featured two exciting bands — The Edicats and The Law. Glittering dance perfor- mances by Teresa and Maria Dressed to Kill: Susan Mariner sings the theme song from Flash Dance in this year’s Talent Show. Binns and Charles Jackson and Orlando Allston were both great crowd pleasers. Some of Monacan’s well known stage talents presented acts, including Susan Mariner; Beth Butler; and the trio of Chris Grantier, Michelle McBride, and Beth Parker. Darren Otero played his heart out on his composition for piano — Dat Dere. Carolyn Adams and Kel- ley Ruth both gave beautiful solo performances as song- sters. Alumni Bob Jennings and Frank Coleman thrilled the audience with two songs, Nor- wegian Wood and Moon- dance. The four part harmony quartet, the Sweet Adelines, performed brilliantly once again as they have in all of the past talent shows. From the Shadows differed in many respects from those talent shows of the past. One of the biggest differences was the use of special lighting ef- fects instead of sets. Many different techniques were em- ployed in the show’s produc- tion, including strobe light ef- fects, colored lights, and cast crystal ball reflections. Each lighting technique was used to present a mood to go with the performance. A second difference was the process used to select performers. Each act planning to be in the sh ow was required to perform twice before get- ting a nod that they were in the show. This process helped to give all the performers audi- tioning at least two chances to present their act and to im- prove. It also helped to keep the show of an enjoyable length. A third great difference was the increased amount of prize money, — a great goal for those performing. First place winners claimed $50.00, and second place winners were awarded $25.00, with third place taking $15.00. At the end of the evening the four judges handed the enve- lope, containing the names of the winners, to emcee Angela Pickles. Third place winner was Darren Otero. Second place recipients were Charles Jackson and Orlando Allston. The first place winner was the talented band known as THE LAW, consisting of members Sam Mustafa, Chris Doyle, Tom Patch, and Harrison Dean. Sliding Across The Floor: Winning second place in this year’s Talent Show was Charles Jackson and Or- lando Allston’s famous dancing. From The Shadows 25

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We’re Nobodies. Lending some com- ic relief to some of the more serious multiples, the ‘‘Born Losers’ make the audience laugh. No More War!! Of the more serious multiples was a discussion of war. The students shout their cries of opposi- tion to nuclear war. Readers Theatre