Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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Last came the play that the stage crew dreaded — Work is fun until . . . , the highlight of which was the dumping of the workers in a pig-water bane]. This, however, was somewhat overshadowed by the appearance of one of Mr. Dinter ' s goats. And then, of course, there was trouble with the curtain even at the final moment. We are greatly indebted to Mr. Knighton, who with his witticisms and sense of organization, kept the programme running smoothly; to Mr. Larsen for his between- scenes performance; to Mrs. Sue Larsen, Mrs. Jack Larsen, and Miss Elizabeth Molson for supervising the make-up and costumes. — J.C.W.M. irease f- ancahe Ljr ' ancake Grease was held on Shrove Tuesday, March 2nd, according The Annual to custom. There were 18 contestants from nine Forms. Foster and Robertson II proved them- selves the undoubted winners on behalf of Form Upper IV by the aid of much guile and feigned injury in the inevitable melee that ensued among the contestants for Tom ' s redoubtable Pancake. This is the second year in succession that the stalwarts of Upper IV have been successful in winning the Headmaster ' s award. Jne oLjramalic ociet The Dramatic Society was organized this year and received much enthusiastic support. During the first term the Society staged two one-act plays: — The Black Valise by A. Baxter, and Master Pierre Patelin by M. Stone. In both plays the actors worked hard in their parts and, for a first performance, produced quite a commendable show. Coates, as Dooley the janitor, definitely gave us the Page Nineteen

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ZJhe f aa k oncert November 10th, 1953 — the stage is a beehive of activity. Tomorrow is the big day. The air is punctured by occasional yells, and hammer blows mingled with the crashes of falling timber and boys. November 11th — 7:30: — The big moment finally came and after a few vicious and frenzied tugs at the curtain the show began with Angus ' skilled version of the Volga Boatmen ; the Commissar of the Upper Fourth (Peter Janke), was towed up the river with all the regal splendour possible for one whose vehicle is an oversized soup toureen! The next play was by Lakes House. With Master of Ceremonies Perry, Station GIN (the Breath of the Nation), put on a programme which, while perhaps not a very skilled performance, at least was loud enough. The programme ended with a little surprise for the audience. All those who had wondered what that huge piece of canvas above them was for, soon found out as confetti came cascading down upon them. In the next play, another one of our distinguished Shawnigan pianists took over the keyboard. This time it was George II, who, with the rest of Second Form, conducted a very successful Operation Peanut. The next episode was Mr. Knighton ' s way of pleading not guilty for the difficulty over the curtain. This short dialogue entitled The Hint. (and it was a very broad one), I think must have conveyed very clearly that the curtain was not in the best of repair. Next followed in reasonably quick succession Rosenstern and Guildencrantz, or A Soliloquy on Hamlet, in which the highlight was definitely the appearance of some pretty, light-footed girls, who gave us a demonstration of how a chorus girl shou ' d dance; then came A Little Nonsense, (Remove A) which was just what the name implies. The Stuffed Trout, a Third Form production, was the second one before the inter- mission. Unlucky Strike proved to be a shaggy dog story in sheep ' s clothing. The poor, sunburned camel (Underhill and Owen), however, completely stole the show. After the intermission there was The Fatal Finger (Remove B); A Grecian Court- yard (a ballet scene by the second half of Remove A); and Romeo and Juliet by the Sixth Form (definitely not the way Shakespeare meant it, if indeed, there was any resemblance to Shakespeare ' s work). Then came Station R U O K, in which Slick was Master of Ceremonies for the Lower Fourth Form. The Prefects, as usual, came forth with an action-packed play in Her Shawnigan Old Boy. (It was said that the Old Boys were going to meet to discuss legal action). Page Eighteen

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feeling of being a slugger by nature, even if a labourer by accident; the small and shabby, timid and repressed Mrs. Dooley was carefully played by Firth; Wilson did a good job as the pompous if rather thick-witted policeman; Schaefer portrayed the dark and mysterious Dr. Nikolov and was able to achieve that combination of bland juvenility and deep inscrutability which characterizes the partly insane; finally, Parry played his part adequately as the master of repartee, Mason. The highlights in the second play, Master Pierre Patelin, were Obermarck ' s portrayal of Joceau the draper, and Brooks ' performance as the Shepherd; the character- ization of the draper, in particular, was excellent and was probably the finest contribution of the evening. In addition, Brooks managed to give a simplicity and almost an inanity to the shepherd which were actually intended — bv the author. During the Lent Term the Society put on two more plays: — The Bathroom Door by Gertrude Jennings, and Shivering Shocks by Clemence Dane. This show was a much improved performance over the first one, and the odd person became quite optimistic about the future of the Club. Brooks, Madden, Wilson and Hebb were all very good in the Bathroom Door ; Brooks played the rather tentative anxious-to-please young man most effectively; Madden strained his voice sufficiently to give us the beautiful and composed Prima Donna; Wilson effusively developed the red-faced and paunchy elderly gentleman who showed quite an eye for the ladies; and finally, Hebb ' s character- ization of the small and frightened elderly lady was most commendable. The other play, Shivering Shocks, was a mystery and was the most difficult the Club has as yet attempted. It was essential to the success of this play that an atmosphere of mystery be created and maintained throughout. The boys all made a noble effort and went a long way in creating this. The best individual results were probably obtained by Knight I as the crippled Captain Dallas, and Obermarck as the eccentric scientist. On the whole, the enthusiasm for the Society and the results of it were most en- couraging. Indeed we are all looking forward to the development of more latent talent in the school, and the production of more plays next year. The Officers of the Society during the past year were: — President, C. D. Brooks; Secretary-Treasurer, J. K. Schaefer; Stage Manager, O. Foster. A very successful year. The Club members invested share capital which enabled us to add rabbits to the livestock list. Pigs and chickens continue to thrive. Rabbit entries in the B.C. Products Fair in May brought 2 First Prizes, 1 Second, and 1 Third. More visits were made, mostly to Rabbitries. At the end of the year each member received a share of profits on his investment. This augers well for a good year in 1954-55. Page Twenty