ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190049
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: CLASS NOTES
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ
A one-act play that was written and produced just for competition has become so successful that the students are being asked perform it throughout the New River Valley and beyond.
The Pulaski County Theater Arts Program and the Pulaski County High School Players are receiving requests to present their Roanoke Valley District award-winning play, "Through Our Eyes," at local schools and the Roanoke area. In addition, the students may perform their play at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, said Jeff McCoy, director of the Theatre Arts.
"Through Our Eyes" is an original piece that is produced by the theatre troupe. The one-act play is about the Holocaust and a large portion of the script was developed from the CBS Afterschool Special Children Remember the Holocaust. The show featured numerous personal accounts of young people who had survived the Holocaust and mixed it with pictures and actual video footage.
Students in the Theatre Arts classes researched, watched videos and read about the Holocaust before arranging and developing their own script. The students then received permission from the producer of the television special and from Turtleback Productions for the rights to the personal accounts. The group then edited lines and adapted the script for a stage play. The students also had to decide how to present each person, since the video was just a narration.
The students also added poems, which were written by Jewish children, from the book "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" to the script.
While the play deals with a serious subject, the students' presentation is in a message of hope. The play includes slides and music to take the audience through what is considered one of the most horrific times in human history.
"I think that it's been a lot more demanding than a regular high school play," McCoy said. The students didn't start working on the play until after the winter holidays, and with all the missed school days because of snow, they often had to rehearse longer hours and commit extra time.
"The play sort to became a part of them. They gained a better understanding of what the Holocaust was all about... the problems that basically came from that period," McCoy said. "It's been interesting and exciting for the kids. It wasn't just a competition piece, it became a part of their lives."
He added that the performances the group now makes serve more of an educational purpose than just being a high school play. Many of the schools are interested in seeing the play because their students recently studied and learned about the Holocaust.
The cast is comprised of 13 students, five technical assistants and two student directors. The students are: Emily Pohlig, Eric Southern, Erin Hunter, Jennifer Ousley, Nathan Morehead, Matthew Hancock, Ashley Lytton, Daniel Currie, Chessie Jarrells, Felecia Taylor, Amanda Jackson, Amanda Phillips, Paula Edwards, Jake Blevins, Scott Adams, James Simpkins, Jessica Burnette, Kyle Hodge, Wren Lanier and Ezra Ford.
The play has received several awards in the past few months, including the Best Cast and Best Technical Show at the Roanoke Valley District competition. The three judges at the competition also named the production the Best Show.
The play finished its competition circuit earlier this month, when it placed fourth place at the Northwest Regional One-Act Festival in Roanoke. McCoy said the latter competition was very close between the top four schools, each school placing within one point of the other.
William B. Steele is recipient of the Christiansburg Wal-Mart scholarship. Steele will receive a $1,000 Sam Walton Scholarship, which he will use toward his college tuition. Steele is a senior at Giles County High School. He will attend Penn State College in the fall.
A Christiansburg High School student has been electee to the State Office of Western Area Vice President of Virginia DECA.
Sarah Waters was elected at the state conference in Williamsburg earlier this month. DECA is a national association of marketing students. She will attend the national conference in Orlando in April.
Waters, a junior, is a class officer and is president of the Christiansburg High DECA chapter and vice president of the District 4 chapter. Walters also is a member of Youth and Government and will attend the Model General Assembly in Richmond as a delegate. In addition, she is active with the Health Occupation Students organization, the Monogram Club, Youth America, Young Life and St. Paul United Methodist Church. She also is a student intern at Richardson Horne Funeral Home. She is the daughter of Danny and Nancy Waters.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
It's spring and it's time for a fling: the Blacksburg High School Spring Festival. This year's theme, Moonlit Blossoms, will showcase students' talent and recognize excellent performance in academics. The spring court also will be introduced and the Rex and Regina will be crowned.
The program will be March 21 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Admission is $1.
Parents of rising 9th-, 10th- and 11th-graders can meet with guidance counselors at Christiansburg High School to discuss schedules and course selections for the next school year. Counselors will be available March 18 and 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school. Parents also can call the school at 382-5186 for an appointment.
SCHOLARSHIP
The Radford Community Auxiliary and the Radford Community Health Foundation will award a $3,000 scholarship to a student who is pursuing a career in health care. To be considered for the scholarship, a student must be a senior and attend high school in the New River Valley. Students must be planning to enroll in a degree program in health services.
Application deadline is May 10. Applications are available from high school guidance counselors. or by calling the volunteer service manager at Radford Community Hospital at 731-2558.
High school athletes who are interested in going to college are eligible for more than 100,000 collegiate athletic scholarships each year. A new publication with forms, sample letters and tables of factual information is available for students through the National Sports Foundation.
For information about collegiate athletic scholarships, send a self-addressed, stamped business size envelope to the National Sports Foundation, P.O. Box 940, Oakhurst, N.J. 07755.
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
The American International Youth Student Exchange Program is seeking American host families for 25 high school students from Europe and other foreign countries for the next school year. The program is a non-profit high school foreign exchange program in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. It offers qualified students a chance to spend a summer, semester or school year with a host family in America or aboard.
American host families are needed for the 1996-97 school year. The students will arrive in the U.S. in late August, attend the local school and return home in late June of the following year. The students are fluent in English.
The program also is seeking American high school students, ages 15-19, who are interested in spending a high school semester or year with a European family or to participate in a four- or six-week family stay abroad in the summer. Students must be mature, have superior character and knowledge of English and a foreign language to be finalists.
For more information, call 800-347-7575.
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Waters, Currie, Hancock, Phillips, Taylor.by CNB