Upper Arlington High School - Norwester Yearbook (Upper Arlington, OH)

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Dracula Instills Dramatic Chills “Line! The anguished cry reverberated in the Little Theatre. Emily Verhoff. student diree tor. sighed. But only if she dies by day,' Dracula.” I remember!” Dracula ran for four nights. October 29 through November I Mr. Ron Steinbrink. director, scheduled the three-act play to coincide with Halloween in order to generate interest and — ultimately — a larger audience Rehearsals began September 23 and continued until opening night; the five weeks passed too quickly. Cast members came to the Little Theatre after school and worked for two hours every day, Monday through Thursday During rehearsals, lines were memorized. accents practiced, characterizations developed, and blocking”, or where an ac tor stands, sits, yalks, or jumps, was carefully noted and learned The transformation caused frustration when learn ing was slow, but the elation of getting it right more than compensated. The eight-member ensemble worked well together. Veterans helped the newcomers to the stage with the finer points of performing; independently, the actors met at each others' homes and practiced scenes that needed extra work By spending so much time together, the actors and ac tresses became as close as a family. One week remained before opening. The technical crew finished all but a few last touches on the scenery. The publicity posters designed by Kristen Ersing were posted in the halls Jane Stooke. Mike Vild. Liz Pietrzak, David Beach. Frrghlened by his own trflection. W R Fox. who portrayed Dracula. turns away from the mirror while unsuccessfully experimenting with make up Robert Bruce. Rob Collie. Holly Meeder. and W R. Fox were ready to perform At the final dress rehearsal, even the bat could fly. although it did not survive for the last performance Finally, opening night arriv ed At 8:00. the curtain opened and the play began to work its magic. Audiences gasped in spite of themselves when a mir ror broke, and nervous laughter rippled through the theatre as David Beach warned that there are such things as vampires. It was a production worthy of applause The insane Renfield, portrayed by Robert Bruce, fruitlessly attempts to evade his captors, played by Rob Cotlte and Craig Beickelman Fall Play 21

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Liz Pietrzak listen intently as David Beach explains to Jane Stooke that portraying a maid i not necessarily a subservient role Director Ron Steinbzink transforms Liz Pietrzak into an old lady with the art of stage make up The smallest member of the cast takes time out of rehearsing and eluding its owner to do a little palm reading for a fellow actor 20 Fall Piny

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Everyone love a parade, and the November 1 Levy Parade was no ex ception The (J.A. band, led by drum major Jeff Ha Idem an. marches into the stadium U M An elementary school child carries his poster with all due seriousness Mrs Diane Keeler, cochairman of the Levy Committee, entices her audience into a vote of yes (J.A. Catches Levy Spirit Election Day. 1981. The results from the polls flashed across the television screen After what seemed like hours, the verdict on the Upper Art ington 7 8 mill school levy ap peared: yes. by a vote of 8.804 to 7.832 Passage of the levy had not been easy Although the citizens of Upper Arlington traditionally support their schools, the economic picture for 1981 was grey for schools across the country A national trend toward limited spending resulted in heavy cutbacks in federal and state aid to local schools, including U.A A need ed pay hike for teachers and in flation in general made passage of the levy imperative. Massive publicity campaign supporting the levy was engineered by a committee of U.A. residents. Rather than model past campaigns, which were almost secretive, co-chairmen Jeff and Diane Keeler wanted to involve as many peo pie as possible Perhaps the most persuasive prolevy argument, especially for those without school-aged children, was the fact that Up per Arlington property values are high because of the quality of education offered As Diane Keeler stated. “Good schools make this a great community. Soon after the levy commit tee made bumper stickers available, cars, bicycles, and occasional pedestrians ap peared voicing the sentiment I Love U.A. Signs proclaiming the same slogan and displaying the attractive logo popped up in front lawns. Even the notebooks of students sported the spirited catch phrase, as did lockers, walls, and desks. Publicity culminated with a prolevy parade and rally on Sunday. November I. A separate group of U.A.H.S band members, athletes, and Arlington residents started at each of the two junior high schools and met in the street to march together into the high school stadium for the rally Jeff Keeler served as Master of Ceremonies, and Mr Marv Crosten introduced the guest of honor Woody Hayes, whose speech spurred many other wise unconvinced citizens to vote for the levy. Perhaps in accordance with a bumper sticker, they all got the U.A spirit. 22 Levy