Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 15, 1993 TAG: 9304150390
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RAISING SCHOOLWORK TO AN ART FORM'
Dreaming is a state of reality in abstract. The reality must be dug out. Just look and you can see. - Huyen Campbell, Cave Spring High School
Students from area schools staggered on the stage in Theatre B of Center in the Square. They sat on chairs, some of which were upturned or on their sides.
They formed a "people sculpture."
It was April 7, the last evening of the Center Scholarship Program for high school students, and the teens were rehearsing their final presentation - a play made from abstract sentences.
The annual program is coordinated by The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge and offers juniors and seniors a chance to work with professional artists, explore new art forms and expand their creativity.
"It's been an opportunity to write, draw or [do] anything. It was a release" from regular school work, said Cave Spring High School junior Christine Boutilier.
Twenty-five students from Patrick Henry, Salem, Cave Spring, North Cross, William Byrd, Glenvar and Staunton River high schools participated. Participating artists and writers included associate director of Mill Mountain Theatre Ernest Zulia, published author Cathryn Hankla and photographer Robert Sulkin.
"We learned how to cooperate and work in an artistic setting," said 17-year-old Amy Lester from Salem.
Glenvar High senior Jennifer Spigle agreed. "All these people are very strong personalities," she said, but she learned that being different is OK.
"I have lots of things in common with people I never would've met before," Spigle said.
Also, the experience opened some doors for her, including the chance to work with the Mill Mountain Youth Ensemble, she said, adding she wants to major in fashion design and any exposure to the arts is helpful.
Like most of the students, Spigle was told about the program by her art teacher, and had to complete an application.
Students are chosen more for their interest than their experience in the arts, said co-coordinator Brook Dickson. The program usually lasts six weeks, and the students meet on Wednesday evenings for 1 1/2-hour workshops. This year it started Feb. 3, but went over because of the snow, she said.
This year's theme was "Images - Visual and Verbal" and the teen-agers attended workshops on theater, poetry, drawing and photography.
During the theater workshop, the students were given words and sentences that they had to construct so that the words flowed together in the form of a play. The students split into groups and on their last night the best one was performed to parents and friends. The short play ended with the words "beauty cannot grow from corruption" after one of the students got drunk at a party, died and was buried on the stage.
As part of the program, the students created a book of their poetry, photographs and drawings.
"Part of this program is to have something at the end," said local sculptor Mimi Babe Harris, who helped coordinate the activities. The book, designed by the students, was one way to compile what they did.
In the book, William Byrd senior David Dalton writes: "Instead of being shown or being told what theater is, we experienced [it] . . . the workshops taught me about life as well as theater."