Northside High School - Aquila Yearbook (Warner Robins, GA)

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Mark Rissman spends his spare time backstage studying. Each night before the show, the After a long rehearsal, Steph- cast joins hands to pray which —anie Woods chugs down the rest brought them close together. of her ‘Big Squeeze’.

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Each Spring Northside’s Thespian’s sponsor a play. Director, Ray Horne, chose “Bye, Bye Birdie’ a musical comedy that satires the draft of Elvis Presley. In this case, the singer is Conrad Birdie. Birdie’s manager, Albert Peterson, and his Secretary Girlfriend, Rose Alverez plan a final farewell to Conrad on the Ed Sullivan show. During the show Conrad is supposed to give one of his fans, ‘One last Kiss.” The plot thickens as Kim’s boyfriend, Hugo Peabody, becomes jealous, Conrad wants his freedom, and Albert's mother, Mae, trys to keep him from marrying Rose! The constant confusion and antics of “Bye, Bye Birdie’ kept the audience in stiches all three nights. The show began May 18 with an opening to only senior citizens. It continued on the 19th, 20th, and 21th. For many, especially seniors, Saturday night was the best, be- cause after the show gifts were given out to all the adults who helped with the show. As Harvey Johnson, Johnny The devoted fans sing a chorus Bagley searches for a prom date of praise to Ed Sullivan in The Telephone Hour. mm ¢ ¢ SOOO, 4° « ? 7 o¢¢¢ é ¢¢ of s oo ¢ @ o 00% 05 59% . A ,%,%,%%° . Wy « As a special gift to Mr. Horne, the cast bought a swing for his back porch. All the members in the cast practiced long and hard. They gathered costumes, learned songs, and practiced dances until late in the night for two months. However, all this work paid off in the glitter and gleam of the spotlight. Sophomore, Andrea Allen was quoted as saying, “' | really liked it when the show was over and everyone started to clap.’’ For many others in the show, that too was where all the sweat paid off. Of course, the show wore the cast to a bone, however, each member thought the effort was worthwhile. As senior Shero- lyn Ford said, ‘ It was terrific because it was my last year in Drama, but | am so glad that it is over so | can get some sleep.” This was the attitude of most of the cast, although the story they told of the cast of “Bye-Bye Birdie’’ will never be for- gotten by them or any of the audience.

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Discussing plans for the cast party are Jalanda Standard and Scott Culpepper. Working so much together, Dana Woods, Kevin Coleman, and Christie Bouler develop a close friendship Backitage with Birdie Though the spotlight was bright at the Civic Center during “Bye Bye Birdie”, it took a great deal of work to get it that way. The students who chose to be in the show began practice in March. At first there were only music rehearsals so that the cast could learn and perfect the harmony in each musical number. These rehearsals were usually from 6-9 every weeknight. Of course, the leads in the show also re hearsed after school from 3:30-5 p.m. Soon, choreographer Ken Raphael arrived from New Orleans to do his fifth Northside Spring Musical. At this point the tension really began to mount. The cast would re- hearse from 3:30-5 and again at 6-9 p.m. These rehearsals continued even on Friday night. Saturday and Sunday were also spent practicing, practicing, practicing. Finally 2 weeks before the opening, Ron- nie Babbitt, manager of the Civic Center, opened the door to cast, set crew, and band. During these two weeks, especially the cast, pulled together and worked usual- ly until 10 p.m. to get the show ready. At dress rehearsals, cast members could al- ways be seen with a ‘Big Squeeze”’ cooler from Burger King full of juice or water. The floor of the backstage was covered with sleeping bags and coolers. Rob Gordon joked one night and said, “We can just spend the night here and go to school in the morning.” Adults who helped with the behind the curtain work were Mr. Maine and Mrs. Hav- rilla (set), Mr. Langley (Band Director), Mr. Unruh (Music Director and Costumes), and Ms. Yongue and Miss Tolliver helped in all areas. These adults were very special to the cast because they showed an interest in them and mostly cared. Naturally, a great deal of sweat, blood, and tears went into the making of ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, but as the curtains were drawn and the story was told everyone knew it was a worthwhile thing.