THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160739
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Don Strickland Jr., a student at StoneBridge High School in Chesapeake, will be seen in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, ``The Diary of Anne Frank.''
Faith and vision are recurring themes in ``The Diary of Anne Frank,'' the true story of a Jewish teenager and her family who, for two years, hid from the Nazis when they occupied Amsterdam during World War II.
Don Strickland Jr., who lives on Mayflower Avenue with his parents, Patti and Don, is featured in the StoneBridge High School Dramatic Performing Arts presentation.
The Frances Goodrich-Albert Hackett play will be presented Dec. 1 - one performance only, an ambitious project for a school with a student body of 40.
``A full-length drama with a limited cast and challenging story affords the serious drama and communications students an opportunity to really grow,'' said Kathy Finn, the director. ``StoneBridge has some exceptionally gifted performance-oriented students.''
They are working on a classic story which Don describes as ``wonderful - well written. It shows the horrible things that went on during World War II.''
The 16-year-old sophomore portrays Mr. Dussel, a dentist, who shows up about a year after the Frank family finds sanctuary with a friend. He finds sanctuary with them.
The play, based on Anne Frank's diary, ``closely parallels the movie,'' Don said. ``It's about a family that lived in hiding - but with hope.''
Don finds hope in his faith as a member of the Church of God of Prophecy on Holland Road in Suffolk.
``We take the Bible literally. Nothing more, nothing less,'' he said. ``Life within itself has been given by God and should be cherished.''
Otherwise, Don's life centers around computers.
``I'd like to have a doctorate degree in computer science. I'd like to be bigger than Bill Gates,'' he said, referring to the billionaire creator of Microsoft. ``I'd like to put him to shame.''
First things first.
``I'm looking at Bridgewater, near Roanoke or Liberty University in Lynchburg,'' Don said. ``I'm interested in a Christian environment. I want to study the Bible in great depth.''
Other interests include his 1,000 sports card collection, classical music, Contemporary Christian songs, ``Star Trek'' and poetry.
Next year, ``Mist of Enchantment,'' published by the National Library of Poetry, will include his poem, ``The Friend I Never Had.''
``It's my view on abortion,'' Don said. ``I started writing - it just came out.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS
Don Strickland, Jr.
"DIARY OF ANNE FRANK"
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB