Thomas Starr King Middle School - Echoes Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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One Hundred Sixfeen In 'rhe Audiforium

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Once a month Boys' Starr League and Every Girl Club each have an open meeting to which all parents are welcome. At these meetings, mothers and fathers are happy to haye-fa first hand contact with the social program of the school. ' The B7 home room teachers act as hostesses for tea parties for the mothers of all the entering pupils. At these teas the mothers and teachers talk over the ideas and ideals of junior high school that are different from the elementary school. Once a year one .night isset aside for the boys and their Dads A good spirit prevails. Fun and frolic are there and all Work better after such an event. Groups of mothers meet frequently. llfleasures and progressive educa- tion are discussed. All of these activities and many more help to tell the life of the school more closely to that of the community. dnrzual, 1929 WHERE THE HARDEST WORK IS PLAY Wlieii a pupil hrst enters dramatics, he learns how to study plays. His first task is the finding out of the relationship of the various characters in the play. This entails careful perusing of the play, and forms in the pupil the habit of careful and penetrative reading. After having understood the general nature of the play's characters, the pupils proceed to read their lines. By noting such things as contrasts of words and coniiicts of characters, together with a careful study of the play's climaxes, and the looking up of such hard wordsfjas may be outside the reach! of his vocabulary, the pupil is enabled to read 'ivith greater expression and meaning. This last is further aided by a careful search for the beautiful thoughts that may be in the play, or the no less beautiful truths that may be voiced by some character. Throughout the B9 term the pupils also discover how to use and develop their voices. ln the A9 term of dramatics the pupils are initiated into the technique of a play. As this is the term of public interpretations, they also practice proper teamwork-the key to successful staging of a play. They must forget their own identity, and live before the audience only as the characters that they impersonate. That they have succeeded in doing so, is shown by the many successful plays they have produced. Most important among these are the semi-annual graduation plays, as Seventeen, Penrod and Sam - two of Tarkington's comedies on American life, The Big Race, a comedy on school life, and Once There Was a Princess. Besides these plays there are others given in mid season and these invariably prove interesting. Chief among these are, The Man Without a Country, -a well given interpreta- tion of that famous epic: A Slave With Two Faces, a study of fearg Pals, dedicated to the teacher of Dramatics and Not Quite Such a Goose. Marry other plays for special events have been produced, not the least among them being: Fingers, CA Drama of Boy Lifej, Samuel French. The Exchange, Althea Thurston. T heir Tomorrowsf' Tacie May Hanna. One Hundred Fifteen

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One Gift Above Another Lenora Johnson. Bird's Christmas Carol, Kate Douglas Wiggins The 'Out-of-Date' Princess, Etta Cherry Barr. The Slave with Two Faces, M. C. Davies. Six Cups of Chocolate, Edith V. B. Mathewvs. A Scout's Highway, E. C. Bartlett. The Toymalcer of Nuremberg, Austin Strong The Consecration of Sir Galahad, Eugene Rodman Shippcn and 'Elizabeth B. Shippen. Billy, George Cameron. f Besides the interpretation of plays in which the pupil has a chance to show his initiative, imagination, and talent, he is often encouraged to write his own plays, and create his own chacacters In this way quite a few ingenious and clever plays were written and produced entirely by the pupils. George Golitzen, A9 A BETWEEN THE ACTS The curtain opens and a street scene is revealed to the audience. The time is about six o'cloclc in the evening. The audience is conscious of a feeling of nightfall as the twilight slowly fades. A weary beggar shuffiingly crosses the darkening street, while faintly heard are the notes of a Hute. A sentry silently paces his beat as the curtain descends on a scene of quietude and peace. All right, fellows, everyone at your job. The stage is suddenly transformed. The scene of quiet action is changed to one of busy activity. As the boys hurry to and fro, frequent glimpses are given to the miniature stage, in order that the large stage settings may be in their proper places. Bill, put this table back a little farther. Gee, where did they hire those classy costumes. Wa1'reri, you and jimmy move the flats. Hired! Humphl Since when were they hired. They were made here by the sewing classes. Tom, fin loud stage whisperj get out of the way so Jim can set the wall up. Well, they bought the sets. You can't deny that, can you? Leon, less noise. They can hear you in the front. I sure can. We made 'em and the art classes did the paint job. Swell, aren't they P Hi there, Harry, send Jimmy up to tell Sam to be sure to throw the blue spot on this next scene instead of the white. ' You didn't see Shorty practising his part? He's a scream! Dramatics aren't what they used to be, are they? Henry, off the stage! The curtain is about to go up. The last act! The boys are still busy-engaged in putting the sets, previously used, away-getting ready for the finale and the finish-up. Committee: I Reine Chaussee, B9 Sam Downing, B9 I-larry Goff, B9 Irwin Markowitz, B9 Vernon Donnell, B9 One H undred Seventeen