Thomas Dale High School - Reflector Yearbook (Chester, VA)

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Discarding the usually light hearted comedy and musical ideas for a fall show, the drama department decided to delve into a more dramatic piece, “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.”” According to the playwrights Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence, the play is “the long journey of a man’s soul in the course of one night — from hermitizing to rejoining the human race.” The piece was particularly difficult to perform because of the dealings with inner struggles, conflicts within one’s thinking, as opposed to surface, concrete problems. However, the cast, with Lance Faggart portraying Thoreau and Brian Thomas as Thoreau’s mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was able to bring this segment of history alive. Mrs. Nancy Ferguson, the new drama instructor, remarked that the play served as an intellectual stimulus and was informative and thought provoking for all. She also noted that she was “extremely pleased” with the younger, inexperienced players who especially worked hard to make the play a success. Quietly awaiting her moment on stage, Diane Ullom twirls a parasol. Putting on a fantastic performance, Chris Michalek and Lance Faggart portray John and Henry Thoreau respectively. Fall Show 19

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JOURNEY INTOA MAN’S SOUL Taking a break from rehearsal, J. B. Dent, Amy Perdue, and Lance Faggart enjoy each other’s company. Working behind the scenes, Ricky Toone gets the lights set. After portraying Mrs. Thoreau and Deacon Ball, Amy Perdue and Steve Perez dance in jubilation. 18 Fall Show

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After being crowned, Laura Johnson smiles, while Jo Lynn Wheeler sheds tears of joy. Emcee Winkfield Twyman introduces Sharon Baker, Mr. J. W. Crump, and Sammie Goyne. With her escort Ricky Walters, Mary Burkey pauses a moment before the audience. With the success of the slapstick T.V. talent show, “The Gong Show,” the theme for the Variety show was inevitable. Judging whether the acts merited a high score or “the gong” was a panel of three look-alike celebrities, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Phyllis Diller and the ever-popular Darth Vadar of Star Wars. However, the real judges of the talent show sat hidden on the front row of the auditorium, and pondered tirelessly on the equally delightful acts to find true winners among them. Judged “most talented,” Silas Friend performed a hilarious collection of impersonating, from Muhammad Ali to J. Wilson Crump. Receiving “most original,” Roslyn Brandt and Steve Perez danced and sang their way through an original musical romance. Gary McIntyre, singing a song he composed himself, and the gifted magician John Barton both received honorable mentions. 20 Miss T.D.