Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 27, 1994 TAG: 9412270059
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LAURA ZIVKOVICH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Audience members, who entered the show through the gallery leading to the library, found themselves inside an Egyptian pyramid complete with murals, treasures and a mummy's tomb. Art students on the team created the gallery works and set the mood for the show.
Ushers distributed copies of ``The Mummy Times,'' a newspaper featuring a story of Osiris' murder at the hands of his jealous brother Seth, and cartoons and puzzles to occupy the guests in anticipation of the show.
Once inside, the guests watched a series of eight performances including skits, readings and musical numbers on the culture of ancient Egypt.
The students wrote and presented three skits, "Ways of Egyptians," a look at Cleopatra and her gang in a more modern setting; "The Myth of Osiris," a humorous presentation of the complicated myth explaining the rise and fall of the Nile River; and "Menes and Tuthead Go to Egypt," a spin-off of a popular cartoon where the protagonists travel in time to ancient Egypt in search of treasure, but instead come back with enough information to finish a school project.
The playmakers made their own costumes and elaborate props.
"The props were hard to make," said Jesse Janzen, whose "Menes and Tuthead" skit used a large brown pyramid with a separate door piece. "First you had to get the idea. Then you had to make it. Then you had to fix it."
The students also made costumes of different styles of Egyptian wear for a fashion show that included "evening wear perfect for a night out with the pharaohs." They twirled across the stage to the Bangles tune "Walk Like an Egyptian."
A brief news broadcast from KTUT interrupted the entertainment, delivering a weather forecast, news and a demonstration on how to get Egyptian information from the computer stations in the library.
"So Mummified," an Egyptian rap to the tune of DaBrat's "Funkdafied," was an instant hit.
"Now we're gonna tell ya 'bout a man named Tut/ Who didn't live in a shack or a hut/ He was king of the whole place/ Not because of his ugly face/He used to make all the laws/ Now he's probably wrapped in gauze," sang Andrew Allen, Jesse Janzen, James Williams and Matthew Wright.
"We wanted to do something educational and still make it funny,'' said Caroline Seagle, a star of "The Myth of Osiris." "Everyone worked so hard. It was really successful."
Members of Pulaski County High School's PCHS PLAYERS joined more than 600 students attending the State Thespian Conference in Richmond.
The group's production of "The Cycle of Life: Look Who's Not Talking" was selected as one of four from Virginia to be presented at the International Thespian Society Conference this summer.
Dana Andrews, a student teacher from Radford University, brought the TROPICAL RAINFOREST to Marilyn Bowman's fourth-grade class at Belle Heth Elementary.
As part of a three-week unit, the pupils decorated the room as a rainforest, drawing pictures of animals, making stained-glass tree frogs and bringing in stuffed animals from home.
Andrews set up a simulated rainforest in the classroom with plants, a recording of rainforest sounds and a humidifier, all surrounded by a shower curtain suspended on hula hoops. The children went in one by one to get the feel of the tropics.
The unit also included lessons in geography, rainforest research and poetry writing.
Radford High School will hold a FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOP for parents of juniors and seniors Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in the school's library.
Buddy Johnston, director of financial aid at Radford University, will explain sources of financial aid and the federal student aid application.
Participants who have application forms should bring them to the workshop.
For more information, call 731-3649.
Marshall Linkous' automotive mechanics students at Christiansburg High School got a red 1994 PICKUP TRUCK for Christmas this year from Chevrolet Motor Division and Shelor Chevrolet.
The truck is to be used in the classroom only and may never be registered or driven. The students will be able to study the latest in automotive technology.
Chevrolet regularly donates vehicles damaged in transit or by flood to vocational education programs for in-classroom instruction.
CHRISTIANSBURG HIGH SCHOOL recently did its part to help this year's Montgomery County Christmas Store to be a success. Students contributed hundreds of dollars and volunteered their time, as did many faculty members.
The Vocational Industrial Clubs of America conducted a canned food drive; the Future Homemakers of America made an Angel tree for gifts; and the Future Business Leaders of America collected used clothing and toys.
by CNB