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W 7 7 _ '7 ’ "’ _—— V

ABSTRACT
HISTORY OF DRAMATIC ACTIVITY AT PONTIAC HIGH SCHOOL
FROM 1915 to 1957
by Garth Errington

For many years Pontiac High School, in Pontiac,
Michigan, has had an active and well supported dramatics
program. This highly industrialized community, which sends
less than 20 percent of its high school graduates on to
college, seems a rather unusual environment in which a
strong dramatic program.would flourish.

This historical study was conceived in order that the
’growth of dramatic activity at Pontiac High SchOol might be
examined in terms of its personnel and its productions. This
information may then be of value to a school system which is
interested in initiating an active dramatics program and
might thereby discover a pattern or structure in this study
which might add to its knowledge in this field.

The study is limited to a consideration of the period
from 1915 through 1957. Although the year 1923 was the time
when dramatics was formally added to the high school our-
riculum, it was felt that an examination of the nature of
dramatic activity prior to this date would provide a more
complete picture. The year 1915 was selected as the start-
ing point because it was then that the high school stage and
auditorium were completed. This new facility was used by
all participating groups during the rest of the years that

this study encompasses.

.\ s35

 

 

The first period the study examines is from 1915
through 1923. During these years various plays and operettas
were produced under the sponsorship of a wide variety of high
school clubs and faculty members. Productions ranged from
light farce to Shakespeare and Sheridan. The sponsoring
clubs drew upon their own membership for participation, and,
probably for this reason, the productions never received the
support of the total student body.

Finally student and community interest led to the
hiring of a dramatics teacher who was to be responsible for
all school productions. William Viola was employed as director
of the dramatics program in 1925. The second phase of the
study includes the period from his arrival until his death
in 1947. During this time, Mr. Viola deve10ped a year's
course in dramatics separate from that in public speaking
and rhetoric. He also organized a schedule of productions
on the basis of several a year, with each performance play-
ing to nearly a thousand persons. His production of Booth
Tarkington's Seventeen, for example, ran for eleven consecu-
tive performances and played to nearly ten thousand peeple
in the Pontiac High School Auditorium. It is an obvious con-
clusion to draw, then, that student, administrative, faculty,
and community support was exceptional.

The third phase of the study deals with the period
following the death of William Viola, 19h? through 1957. when
Miss Mary Parrish served as director and teacher. Miss

Parrish, in the ten years preceding her untimely death in

1957, continued and even built upon the successful dramatic

program that had been instituted by Mr. Viola. The addition
of a third semester course in dramatics and the organization
of a highly successful Children's Theatre were but two of
the additions to dramatic activity at the high school. Her
Children's Theatre played to over five thousand Pontiac
elementary school children a year. Under her direction, the
program provided an Opportunity for over three hundred high
school students annually to participate in dramatic produc-
tions.

The complete schedule of activities, both curricular
and co-curricular, from 1924-1957 did not Just happen
accidentally. It was planned with care and with definite
purposes in mind by dedicated and knowledgeable people, well
trained and experienced in this special field. Not only were
they obviously capable directors and teachers, but they were
apparently imaginative and efficient organizers and leaders.
It is entirely conceivable that a program similar to that at
Pontiac High School can be develOped in other high schools
by other qualified people who feel that there is much that
both student and community can gain from a purposeful and

successful dramatics program.

‘ (/fi)(2 g/Iggfeja
APPROVED J 14/64 L c . CL ~ {VJ/L,

_[/” Director

HISTORY OF DRAMATIC ACTIVITY AT PONTIAC HIGH SCHOOL
FROM 1915 to 1957

Garth Errington

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

College of Communication Arts

1962

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. THE EARLY YEARS, 1915-1923

0
O
.p

III. WILLIAM VIOLA, 1924—1947 . 16

IV. MARY PARRISH, 19H8-1957. . . . . . . . . . . . 42

V. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Appendices

I. FULL LENGTH PLAYS AND MUSICALS. . . . . . . . . 65

II. ONE-ACT PLAYS e e e e e e e e e e . e e e e e e 71

III. PLAYS PRODUCED FROM 1957-1961 . . . . . . . . . 7h

BIBLIOGRAPHO e e e o e e e O 0 e e e o e e e e e e e e 75

11

CHAPTER I

‘ Dramatic activity at Pontiac High School has been an
integral part of the school's program and the life of the
city for over half a century. However, to date, no histori-
cal record of its growth and development has been compiled
and organized. The purpose of this study is to develop a
lasting record of the history of plays, courses, and all
other activities which have been part of the drama program
at the Pontiac High School in Pontiac, Michigan, from 1923
through 1957 and to discover reasons for its early and last-
ing development.

In order to obtain a comprehensive view it is necessary
to limit the area of study to Pontiac High School, now named
Pontiac Central High School. It is also limited to consider-
ation of those productions sponsored or directed by the per-
son designated by the school administration to be responsible
for the drama pragram. The study is generally confined to
the years 1923 through 1957 because 1923 is the year the for—
mal program began and 1957 is the year the present writer was
hired as director. To go beyond this might detract from the
attempt to view the subJect obJectively.

The phrase, "dramatic program,II which is used through-
out the study is defined as the production of plays, operettas,
classroom dramatizations, and related presentations under the

supervision of an officially designated director. "Dramatic
program'l will also include the courses and their content in

its relation to the total school curriculum.

'.

.
s.«~
I

on“:

 

 

2

The chief secondary sources for the information gathered
for the study includes The Pontiac Dail Press, the weekly
school newspaper, Ihg_zgg§hgg_, and the high school yearbook,
The Quiver. Primary sources of information are the files
which were kept in the Dramatics classroom, the personal
files and letters of two former Directors, William Viola and
Mary Parrish, and interviews with several people who were con-
nected with dramatic activity at the high school.

There are several basic reasons for undertaking this
study. First, the writer taught and directed dramatic activ-
ities at Pontiac Central High School from 1957 to 1960 and,
therefore, feels a strong kinship to the program. Secondly,
it is felt that a systematic record of its historical develop-
ment will be of value to school officials and teachers of
drama in seeing how a successful program came into being.
Finally, it is haped that the study will add to the general
store of knowledge in the area of secondary school theatre
and assist school personnel in planning programs of maximum
educational value. In spite of the many excellent examples
of such activities to be found throughout the country, there
is all too little written material available on specific pro-
grams. An indirect result of this study might well be the
provision of a defense of the educational values inherent in
a properly planned and executed drama curriculum and pro-
duction pregram.

The study is divided into three historical periods.

Or, rather, it should be said that the study has divided

3

itself into three separate units of development. The first,
treated in Chapter II, is devoted to the years immediately
following the construction of the high school auditorium and
preceding the formulation of a formal course of study as a
part of the school's total curriculum. This period is sig-
nificant because it was at this time that the first attempts
were made to produce significant plays to large segments of
the student and community population.

Chapter III is concerned with the work of Mr. William
Viola who was hired by the school system to organise and
direct a quality dramatic program. This program'was to be-
come an integral part of the Pontiac High School academic
and extra-curricular structure.

Chapter IV is a review of the tenure and contributions
of Miss Mary Parrish who followed William Viola in l9h8 as
director and dramatics teacher. It was during this time that
the high school program was altered and expanded by the addi-
tion of other courses in speech and drama.

Finally, Chapter V consists of a summary of the find-
ings of the study and conclusions which may be drawn from

them.

CHAPTER II

All important developments in society have foundations
on which to build solid platforms. Drama at Pontiac High
School was no different. Despite the fact that this study
is focused on the period from 1923 through 1957. it is
necessary to go back seven or eight years to see what makes
the year 1923 the proper starting point as opposed to some
other year. In reviewing the background as a basis for
establishing this perspective, 1915 is chosen because it was
in this year a new school auditorium was constructed.

On June 4, 1915, the first production of notable size
was produced before a full house on the new stage and in the
auditorium of Pontiac High School. This was the Gilbert and
Sullivan Operetta, H.M.S, Pinafore. According to a local
reviewer, the audience of eight hundred and fifty people gave
round after round of applause at the appearance of every
actor on stage.1 Assisting in the production was the entire
high school orchestra augmented by several professional
musicians from Pontiac and Detroit. The newspaper reviewer
seemed very impressed by the colorful costumes and interest-
ing scenic effects, particularly the moonlight scene in the
second act.

Early in January, 1916, a group of students under the

guidance of a teacher, Miss Blanche Avery, formed The

 

1Pontiac Press Gazette, June 5, 1915, p. 5.
h

5
Shakespearean Dramatics Club and produced William Shakes-
peare's ggglfth Nigh .2 The production was played before
less than four hundred, a very small turnout for a production
which the school newspaper critic felt worthy of more sub-
stantial support.3 Two other productions are of note in
1916. One of these was the children's operetta, Iolanthe,
which was presented by grade school children under the direc-
tion of one of the high school English teachers. The elemen-
tary school children in the city turned out in such numbers
that seats and a stage were set up in the high school gym?
nasium so the actors could move there for a second performance

after performing to a full house in the auditorium.“

The
third production that year was on June 12, 1916, and was
entitled Breezy Point. This was a light comedy presented by
the pupils of the graduating class of 1916 in place of the
usual program of commencement exercises.5

Despite the disappointing turnout for their last
Shakespearean production, the Shakespearean Club presented
Richard III on November 12, 1917, during the regular chapel
exercises at the high school. The play was reported to have

been well received by the student body of nearly six hundred.

 

2mg” March 1, 1916, p. 2.

3Pon§iac High school Quiver, 1916, p. 65.
“P ntiac Press Gazette, June 7, 1916, p. 2.
5_I_p_;_¢_1_., June 13, 1916. p. 9.

6

The critic from the newspaper felt this was the most gifted
cast to appear on the new high school stage to date.6

In 1918 the Shakespearean Dramatics Club decided to
stage the original Taming of the Shrew, according to the
local paper, instead of the frequently done but modernized
version usually staged by high schools.7 Therefore, on
March 21, 1918, the play was successfully presented before a
well-filled auditorium. The mood of the play received lable'
support from the thirty-piece high school orchestra which
seemed to lend a "touch of professionalism" to a “well-acted!
drama.8

In 1919, with World war I a thing of the past, the
first play was produced on January 2h. A light comedy called
What Happened to Jones received two performances before large
crowds. This play was felt to be the best of its kind given
at the high school.9

The last production of this year was William Shakes-
peare's A Winger's Tale. This play was presented before a
crowded house by the Shakespearean Dramatics Club, under the
direction of Miss Avery, on March 19 of that year. Although
at least one spectator felt that

the vehicle was below the standard of the club's
usual productions, it was staged in a manner

 

S;p;g., November 13, 1917, p. 2.
7;p;g., March 20, 1918, p. 4.
8;2;9., March 22. 1918, p. h.
9214-. January 25. 1919, p. 5.

7

betokening much painstaking on the part of all

concerned in the presentation. Also, it must be

mentioned that Miss Madeline Hazelton, who had
portrayed many previous roles displayed excep-

tional ability in dramatic acting, holding the

center of interest by her remarkable voice con—

trol and finished stage presence.

From the sources that were available to the author
relating to this period of activity at Pontiac High School,
it appears that it was the efforts of a few students who went
to various faculty members asking for help that led to the
production of all the plays done at the high school with the
exception of the Shakespearean dramas. They were presented
as an activity of the Shakespearean Dramatics Club which
developed as an offshoot of the Senior English classes, yet
always remained strictly an extra out-of-school activity
rather than a part of any phase of the planned curriculum.

A new decade brought a type of dramatic fare that was
similar to that of the preceding one. In 1920 the plays were
similar in regard to types and selective process as were
those of 1918 and 1919. The major difference to be found is
that of an increase in audience interest and attendance at
the performances. February 26, 1920, brought to the Pontiac
High School stage a production of Shakespeare's As You Likg It.
This marked the fifth year that the Shakespearean Dramatics
Club had produced one of Shakespeare's comedies. The reviewer

felt that the play was lIhandled very capably considering its
subtle dialogue and gentle tempo.“ This was also the first

 

1°Ib1g., March 19, 1919, p. 10.

8

play of note in which the scenery was prepared by the high
school's art students.11

On October 23 of that same year an audience of over
eight hundred, of which most were grade school children,
witnessed a production of Esmeralda which was directed by
two English teachers, Miss Mary Christian and Miss Ethel
Lighterness.12 The cast was I'fortunate to receive skilled
assistance“ from the high school orchestra. Also contributing
to the play's success was the school choir which provided
integral support to the performance. Much of the Isuccess of
the play was due in no small part to these two musical
groups."13

One of Pontiac High School's first original productions
went on the boards in 1920. It was a play written by one of
the high school's Bnglish teachers, Miss Mary Derragon. This
unnamed play embodied the features of a class-day program and
was presented in place of class-day exercises by the nineteen
high-average students of that year's graduating class.1h

Miss Blanche Avery, who was adviser to the Shakes-
pearean Dramatics Club for several years, was again called

upon to direct a play by William Shakespeare. This time she
directed The Comedy of Errors. The reviewer implied that

 

1¥gpgg;§., Pon ia Pr ss Gazett , February 27, 1920, p. 6.
122mm” Gums. October 2!». 1921. p. 138.

13nggit,, Pon iac Press Gazette, October 23, 1920, p. 12.
1“Ibla., June 8, 1920, p. 2.

9

many Pontiac playgoers felt that this production of February 4,
1921, eclipsed the other seven plays produced by the Club
because of the finished performances and staging of this
excellent comedy.15

Following closely upon the heels of the last production
came a drama of mystery and suspense. Stop Thigf was an
'unusual type“ of play in comparison to others that had been
done at the high school. The director, Mr. Avery, faculty
advisor to the Rhetoric Club, felt that it was I'time to in-
troduce a note of adventure and danger“ to the Pontiac
theatre audiences. The critic from the local paper seemed
to appreciate Mr. Avery's selection by writing that l a large
appreciative audience observed a play in which every charac—
ter was portrayed in a skilled manner, and that it was a
drama in which very little prompting had to be done by the
director.“16

The last production of the 1921 school year was unique
in that it was produced and directed by the graduating class.
The curtain was opened on an elaborate staging of Sheridan's
1h; Rivals on May 12, 1921. The costumes for this production
had been rented in Detroit. The sets consisted of three
interiors and two exteriors and were designed by one of the

high school art teachers. It was also reported that the

 

lsgpggi§,, Pontiac Dail Press, February 4, 1921, p. 6.

161bid., March n, 1921, p. 1.

10

twenty-piece high school orchestra furnished exciting musical
background for the play.17

The production of The Rivals seemed to create a new
interest in theatre on the part of the high school students
and the entire community. Therefore, during the following
school year, September, 1921, through June, 1922, the pro-
ductions at the high school became more important in the eyes
of the student body as the competency of the student actors
and actresses increased and the number of productions grew;
Since the high school yearbook.was a valuable source of in-
formation, some direct quotations from it would give a more
complete picture of the esteem that the dramatic program at
Pontiac High School was beginning to achieve in the eyes of
the students themselves. This growing regard can probably
best be shown by writings of the students themselves which
appeared in the 1921 and 1922 school yearbooks. The first
play of the school year of 1921 was The Importance of Being

Earnest, and it

was presented in the High School auditorium on the
evening of December 2, 1921, by members of the
Modern Dramatic Club. This club stands for the
higher class of modern drama. In choosing the
play, the club members hit upon a production of
real merit. Besides being a very lively and
humorous play, it furnished ample opportunity for
the exhibition of real skill on the part of the
actors.

Before commenting upon the actors in particu-
lar, one should not fail to mention the fine set-
tings. The first act, located in the city flat
of Algernon Moncreiff, was made very effective and

 

17%.! May 13,1921, pe 17o

11

artistic by the use of draperies and period furni-
ture. The second act portrayed a charming garden
scene at the Manor House, Woolton.

The leading roles of the two society men, John
Worthing and Algernon Moncreiff, were played by
George Sharp and Neil Gray respectively. The parts
were long and difficult, involving many lines and
subtle shades of humor. The actors played the
parts exceptionally well. The role of Gwendolen
Fairfax was handled very ably by Hesslins Samuelson.
Roberta Crawford was charming in the part of Cecily
Gardew. The difficult and mature role of Lady
Bracknell was especially well done by Vera Hauxwell.
Leone Brennan, as Miss Prism, a governess, and
Donald Whitfield, as Reverend Canon Chasuble, D.D.,
were an interesting and amusing couple. The con-
trast and peculiarity of the types and characters
of English men-servants were ably presented by
Erwin Collins, who was Lane, a man-servant, and
Harlan Bogie, who played the part of Merriman, a
butler.

Much credit for the success of the play is,
of course, due to Miss Grace Christian who had en-
tire charge of the production. The fine character
delineation, ease of manner on the stage, and clear
enunciation on the part of the actors were the sat-
isfactory results of long and painstaking practice.
The result was a production as artistic as one
could hope to find among High School thespians.
get us. ve more of this type of drama in our High

chool.

The second production that year was Clarence, a comedy in
four acts.

On Monday evening, December 9, a cast, chosen
from the Public Speaking Department, produced
"Clarence,l a four-act comedy by Booth Tarkington.
The play, so admirably produced, was the result of
many weeks of work on the part of Mr. Mbbels, the
director, and the cast.

'Clarence' was a big success due to the
finished acting shown by members of the cast and
also to the special scenic effects which added
beauty and color to the play. Laugh followed
laugh and, as a mirth-producer, this play cer-
tainly excelled. The success of the play was due
in a large measure to the directing of Mr. Edgar J.
Ebbels, head of the Public Speaking Department.

 

1802c°1§e, QUIVOI‘, 1922’ p. 122'

12

The cast was as follows:
Clarence..............Derwin Heller
Cora Wheeler...........Mary Quarton
Bobby Wheeler......Henry Harrington
Miss Pinney.......Elinor Millington
Mrs. Wheeler..........Isabe1 Thorpe
Mr. Wheeler...........Patrick Lynch
Mrs. Martin..........Flossie Graham
Mr. Stein...............Ted Hoffman
Della...............Catherine Wells
Dinwiddie.............Erwin Collins

Music was fuigished by the Pontiac Orchestra

Association.

The third play of that school year saw the curtain rise on
Much Ado About Nothing.

The Shakespearean Dramatic Club's presentation
of l'Much Ado About Nothing' was most successful.
The stage settings were very well planned and
carried out and the lighting effect for the night-
watch scenes was by far the most pretentious of any
that has ever been gained in a High School play.
The picturesqueness of the costumes in design and
color made possible several very pretty tableaux.

Bessie Fuoco entered into the part of the mad-
cap Beatrice with Joyous abandon, and the sweet and
gentle Hero was played so well by Elinor Millington
that the two were excellent foils for each other.
Neil Gray made the transformation of Benedick, the
confirmed bachelor, into Benedick, the ardent lover,
seem the most natural thing in the world, and Donald
Whitfield played the part of the gallant but too
credulous Claudio in a very masterly way. James
Dawson as Don John was a villain of the most soul-
eatisfying wickedness. We shall long remember his
teeth. It is not an easy task to make Shakespeare's
clowns seem real nowadays but Dogberry and his
Watchmen were Just as convincing and Just as funny
as any Irish or darky comedian of the modern stage.
The portrayal of Leonato and Antonio, the two old
but still fiery warriors, was most excellent. In
short, every individual member of the cast played
his part so well and so consistently that we can
make no distinctions.

Although the play was of persons long passed
away and of a period utterly unfamiliar to a large
part of the audience, the youthful actors caught
so well the spirit of the play and the universal,

 

19;b1g., 1922. p. 124.

13

permanent traits of human nature embodied in their

particular parts that we may truly say that they

went far towards realizing Shakespeare's own ideal

of dramatic art - 'to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up

to nature.' And all this is due to the able direc-

tion of Miss Avery secongsd by the enthusiastic

cooperation of her cast.

The final production that year was the combined work of
the speech and music classes and was witnessed by a full
house the last Friday in May, 1922. The production was
Gilbert and Sullivan's ghe Gongoliers which, according to the
local press reviewer, was fully as impressive as many road
shows of that day. The music for this particular operetta
was supplied by fifteen musicians from the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra. The entire production was under the direction of
Mr. Harry Quayle, director of music for the Pontiac Board of
Education.21

This eventful year ended with the reorganization of the
Shakespearean Dramatics Club which had remained inactive for
a few years preceding its production of Much Ado About Nothihg.
Forty students reactivated this club and stated that their
purposes were: to promote an interest in the plays of
Shakespeare, and to enable members to study and impersonate
them on the high school stage.22

The year 1923 brought to the high school stage a very
enJoyable comedy entitled Come Out of the Kitchen, directed

by Nathan Pinney, instructor of public speaking. The setting

 

2°121i-. January 15. 1922. p. 27.
2?;2;g., June 10, 1922, p. s.

221bid., January 15, 1922. p. 27.

14

of this play, considered a remarkable achievement, was a
kitchen with.a11 the furnishings. The reporter covering the
play for the Pontiac Daily Press felt that the work of the
cast excelled that of the average adult amateur cast. This
critic felt that the lights were “used with unusual effective-
ness and added a great deal to the total success that this
play enJoyed."23

In June of the same year, Nathan Pinney and Harry Quayle
of the Music Department collaborated to produce an outstand-
ing production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Madame Butterfly.
These gentlemen spared no expense. Special scenery was built
in Detroit, and nearly a hundred costumes were rented from
Tame Costumes in New York. Supplementing these fine techni-
cal effects was the addition of 15 members of the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra to supply the music for the production.
Needless to say, every seat in the auditorium was taken, in-
cluding some one hundred extra chairs set up in the aisles.
All of Pontiac, according to the yearbook account, seemed to
agree that this was the highlight of the school year.2u

From 1915 to 1923 dramatics at the high school was a
matter of individual department selection and apparently had
no single source of coordination. Whenever a teacher within

a specific department of the high school thought her students
needed a little dramatic activity a production was staged.

 

23%.! January 159 1922, pe 27s
”The” June 6. 1923. p. 10.

15
With the exception of a rather energetic Music department and
the Shakespearean Dramatics Club, very little was done. Howe
ever, when these two more prolific groups produced a music or
dramatic program, audience attendance seemed usually to be
quite good. On the whole, the productions seemed to be well
received by school and community. It is apparent, at least,
that students and administrators recognized some values in
theatre activity and that the groundwork was laid for a more
ambitious and more coordinated program. The audiences which
attended the productions of the various groups were able,
during this period, to witness a rather wide range of material
on the new stage of Pontiac High School. It seems that their
interest was aroused in seeing more plays at the school.

There was next to nothing in the way of classroom in-
struction in dramatics during these years. The little history
and theory the students received seemed to have come rather
indirectly from their English courses and musical directors.
There is no record of basic public speaking courses with the
exception of the teaching of Rhetoric in the early nineteen
twenties. However, this curriculum was to be soon considerably
expanded with.the advent of a specifically designated dramatics
instructor during the period which was to follow.

CHAPTER III

The school year of 1924-25 was to be the most important
year to date in the drama life of the high school. In Sep-
tember of 1924, Mr. William Viola was hired into the Pontiac
school system as Director of Speech and Drama at the Senior
High School. For the first time the high school was to have
a man whose assignment was principally to organize and direct
a program of merit in the dramatic arts.

Mr. Viola's first production that year was a series of
one-act plays which he entitled Sig-In-One. The production
of this group of short plays on December 5, 1924, established
a tradition which was to be followed at the high school for
over twenty years. The plays that were presented in that
first series were:

1. Lihger of God - Percival Wilde
2. The Illuminati in Drama Libre -.Alice Gerstenberg

g. Eggg_gfi_§gnh - Constance McKay
. Medicing Show - Stuart Walker

5. Begween the Souh and the Savory - Gertr de Jennings
6. ;r David Wears a 'rown - tuart Walkerf

following this successful approach to the presentation

 

of plays at Pontiac High School, Mr. Viola presented Dulcy to

a crowded house on March 6, 1925. :hg Pontiac Dai;y Press

praised this production as revealing the finest sets and act-
ing ever to be presented on the Pontiac High School stage.

The production was supported by the music of the entire high

school orchestra.2

 

:LPonhiag High Schoo; Quivgr, 1925, p. 19.
ZPontiac Daily Press, March 7. 1925. Do 8.

16

17

The following year was to bring further significant
developments in dramatic activity at the high school. These
were based on several factors: (1) the high school had a
director with both experience and ability, (2) the towns-
people seemed to sense a change in the quality of the high
school productions and began greater support of the plays
with their increased presence, (3) the leading citizens felt
that through the development of an outstanding dramatics pro-
gram both the prestige and interest of the entire community
would be increased, so their support became both staunch and
verbal, and (4) the school administration saw the value of a
program that would exceed the bounds of the school to include
the entire community.

The first step in the enlargement of the high school's
dramatic program came before the start of the 1926-27 school
year. William Viola presented to the Superintendent of
Schools three papers.

This was a most significant step for it was the first
time any attempt had been made in Pontiac to isolate and
develop a course in dramatics which.was separate from a gen-
eral course in speech. ‘Villiam Viola developed a rationale
for a one-year course in dramatics. He then indicated what
should be included in this course and created a formal out-
lins so that the students would be aware of the total content
of the course and expectations of the teacher. Therefore,
with this material, William Viola had introduced dramatics

to the secondary school curriculum. The first of these three

18
papers was the one which supported his request that dramatics
be taught in the high school separate from general speech.

A course in dramatics offers unquestionable
advantages over any other single study. It possesses
both.a utilitarian and a cultural advantage, which
double purpose is served by a study of the drama
from a historical standpoint, and a study of the
theatre and its accessory arts for practical
utilization.

That seems rather a broad scope for a single
course of study for one year, but that is the
beauty of the dramatics course; the student invar-
iably accomplishes a greater amount of work and
realizes a fuller knowledge of the subject than
he most extravagantly anticipates.

Undoubtedly, a student selecting a new course
of study considers two things paramount: the amount
of work likely to be required of him, and the imme-
diate practicable benefits to be derived from his
study. In short, the greatest return with the least
expenditure of effort. That is a perfectly honor-
able and natural desire, and quite compatible with
business ethics. It is a principle on which the
success of any business may be determined.

As to the work required, taken abstractly it
would appear to be considerable, but the student is
drawn into the swirl of department activities with
such rapidity that his fascination for this new kind
of self-expression quickly surmounts his concern for
his capacity for work. He actually is not aware of
the amount of work he is doing. The work is so
absorbing, and exerts such a constant and even
pressure on his interests, that it becomes a part
of him, as eating and breathing. Students some-
times develop a dramatic complex, but this is rare.
However, dramatic students as a rule retain their
interest long after they have discontinued active
study, and derive an infinite pleasure from the
use of their knowledge.

As to the immediate benefits, that depends
entirely on the individual. Just as a year of high
school chemistry does not make a chemist, neither
does a course in dramatics make an actor. It is too
general for that. But it is a sound basis for a con-
tinuation of dramatic study. Also, aside from its
preparatory nature, it is a valuable training in
itself. As a single course it is remarkably satis-
fying. It does not create actors; it does not enable
one to be a critic; but it does give one a first-
hand contact with the very tangible art and culture
of the dramatic world. It is the essence of the
history of a brilliant intellectual development.

19

Just as we are constantly and surely changing,
so does our study of the drama, every day we are
conscious of it, leave its mark on us. It is mani-
fested in our speech, thought, mannerisms, and gen-
eral reactions. It has been said by one teacher
who is in no way connected with the department,
that a student of speech or dramatics can be in-
stantly identified.

There is nothing so indicative of a person of
culture as a speaking acquaintance with the drama,
which can be gained only through the development 3
of a sincere appreciation of its essential worth.

The second paper handed to the Superintendent of Schools
was his introduction and analysis of what should be included
in his course in Dramatics:

Dramatics I and II for Pontiac High School

The dramatic course is a year's subject taught
by the socialized project method.

The order in which the subject matter is
studied is taken from the textbook manuscript
Dramatic Arts for Secondary Education, written by
the instructor. The chapters are as follows: an
introductory chapter containing suggestions and
explanations of the dramatic museum, costume library,
Puppeteers Club, play outlines, list of periodicals,
play publishers, Lyceum Bureau, National Dramatic
Organisations, and the constitution of a Dramatic
Club of a high school; The Theatre, or in other
words, a brief history of drama; Scenery, its con-
struction and application; The Set, its organization
and color harmony with an explanation of properties;
Model Sets, their construction and purpose; Story of
Costume; costume design; Make-Up; Lighting; its
history and modern development as applied in stage
production; Acting, including rules for voice im-
provement and pleasing platform presence; Directing,
a training in originality and leadership; A Story of
Punch and Judy; Shadow Pantomime; Marionettes; The
Ghildren's Theatre; and Radio Drama, a new and most
practical development of the subject.

Outline for first semester.

Dictation from.Dramatic Arts for Secondary Edu-
gaticn is given while the various subjects are under

 

3aaports to the Superintendent of Schools by William Viola.
Pontiac High School, 1925. (In the files of the Dramatic
Department.) .

20

consideration. This is kept in a loose leaf book
for future reference.

At the end of each week of the first quarter
the student hands in five outlines of the same
number of plays read.

During the first quarter each student con-
structs a model set for a one-act play which is
displayed before the class after an oral synopsis
has been given. Written criticisms by the other
members are brought the next day. ~

During the second quarter the procedure is
similar to the first except that a long play is
used instead of a one—act. Two long plays must be
read and their outlines handed in each week of this
quarter.

For the next two quarters the book, Plays for
Classroom Inte retation, by Knickerbocker is used
in class for line reading. A study is made of play-
writing considering the five divisions; introduction,
rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion.

Two pageants read and outlined are required each
week of the third quarter while five one-act plays
from drama magazines for each week of the fourth.

lach student makes and organizes a dramatic
scrap book choosing any phase of dramatics. The book
is corrected each quarter for its order and explana-
tions as well as the synapsis of a book dealing with
the subject of the scrap book. This means four such
books must be read during the semester. A synopsis
for each chapter of Problems of An Actor by Lewis
Calvert is also required as outside reading.

Projects for each quarter are constructed.and
designed to be added to the collection of models for
the museum or machines for permanent use in plays.

Students are urged to be original in all of
their experiments.

Second Semester.

Dictation from Dramatic Arts for Secondary [du-
cation is continued. Two weeks of the first quarter
is spent with illustrated lectures given by the
students. This is an excellent method for research,
voice improvement, and dramatic hobby development.

Two more weeks are used in the study of make-up.
Those who succeed are allowed to be on make-up comp
mittees for public performances.

Each student chooses a definite subject for
which he gathers a bibliOgraphy which is kept in the
steel cabinet for permanent use.

Projects are continually added to the department
for artistic and practical purposes.

One-act plays are presented once or twice each
week beginning with the second quarter. There is a
director and stage manager for each presentation.
Each student in the audience writes a critical paper

21

about the play which is read before the class the
next day without mentioning the name of the writer.

Outside reading consists of chapters in refer-
ence books and articles in the drama magazines
obtainable in the library.

From time to time lists of plays suitable for
children, adults, and radio are required. These are
followed by discussions.

The study of puppetry and its manipulation is a
fascinating venture in the lives of the people of all
ages. Puppets are actually made and manipulated for
definite plays.

The radio drama, a new develOpment, affords
plenty of study and discussion. A home made set
actually sends the voices from the studio (the cos-
tume library) to the Little Auditorium.

The advanced semester is especially planned to
allow the student to follow his own choice yet ac-
quiring an enormous amount of knowledge through the
discussions and reports in class.

There are two group projects develOped by the
combined effort of both classes, the Six-In-Oneueach
fall and the annual comedy program each spring.

The third paper was an outline of study for two semes-

ters of high school dramatics, which was to be presented to

the students who would enroll in this first class in Dramatics:

Dramatics
Dramatics is a one year course divided into I
and II, open to juniors and seniors who have received
credit in Speech I. Speech III is recommended.

First Semester - Dramatics I
Stagecraft
I. Literature
A. Story of Drama

1. Egypt
2. Greece
3. Home

h. Europe
5. England

6. American

B. Development of Theatre

1. Open-air
2. Street
3. castle

G.

D.

F.

22

4. Church
5. Church yard
6. Market Place
7. wagon
8. Inn yard
9. Elizabethan
10. Opera House
11. Modern
Scenery
1. Types
a. Grecian
b. Roman

0. Modern
(1) Painted

(2} Plastic

(3 Conventional
a; Natural

5 Suggestive

(6) Realistic
2. Interior
3. Exterior
4. Construction

Set

1. Definition

2. Material

3. Properties

h. Arrangement
5. Balance

6. Color Harmony

Model Set

1. Purpose

2. Material

3. Dimensions
h. Construction

Story of Costume
1. Purpose

a. Adornment

b. Protection
2. History

a. Changes

b. Repetition
3. Application

Costume Design
1. General Requirements
. a. Patterns
b. Figurines
c. Plates
d. Pictures

e. Materials
f. Costume Making

23

H. Make-up
1. History
2. Stage use
a. Purpose
3. Process
a. Material
4. Mask
a. Purpose
b. Material
c. Construction

I. Lighting
1. Brief History
2. Purposes
3. Kinds

4. Suggestions

II. Practice
A. Experimentation

l. Scenery

2. Set

3. Model Set
a. One-act Play
b. Long Play

h. Costume Design

5. Make—up
a. Straight
b. Character

6 e Lighting
a. Professional
be Hon-'Mde

III. Projects
A. One each quarter
1. Students choice
2. New or approved subjects for a
definite dramatic purpose

IV. Composition
A. Outlines each week
1. First Quarter
a. One-act Plays — 5
2. Second Quarter
a. Long Plays - 2
3. Third Quarter
a. Pageants - 2
4. Fourth Quarter
a. Magazine Plays - 2

B. Hooks
1. Synapsis
a. Complete book each quarter

24

C. D.I.Q.
l. Dramatic Illustrated Quarterly (a
pictorial reference)
a. Students choice
b. Required each quarter

Second Semester --— Dramatics II
Play Production and Puppetry

I. Literature

A. Acting
1. Definition
2. Kind
3. Voice
. Breathing
5. Interpretation

. Memorization
7. Emotions
8. Hamlet's advice to the players

B. Directing
1. Knowledge

a. Arts
2. Professional
3. Amateur
4. Stage Directions

0. Puppetry
1. Hand Puppets
2. Shadow Pantomime
3. Marionettes
4. Construction
5. Manipulation

D. The Children's Theatre
1. Kind
2. Actors
3. Audience
4. Purpose
5. Aim

E. Radio Drama
1. Develcpment
2. Rules
3. Material
4. Play Writing
5. Sound Effects
6. Broadcasting
7. Voice Training

P. “Problems of an ActorI
1. Lewis Calvert
2. Chapter Synopsis
a. First quarter first seven chapters
b. Second quarter last seven chapters

25

II. Production
A. One-Act Plays
1. Students Participate
a. Act
b. Direct
c. Manage
d. Write criticism

B. Puppetry
1. Write Play
2. Construct Characters
3. Manipulation
4. Scene Design

C. Radio Drama
1e Auditions
2. Shakespearean quotations
3. Sound Effects
4. Plays

III. Lectures
A. Any Phase of Dramatics

1. Students Choice

2. Illustrated
a. Picture machine

3 . Complete Organization
a. Introduction
b. Discussion
c. Conclusion

IV. Composition
A. Magazine
1. Brief Synopsis
a. Two each week

B. Play Lists

Textbook --- Creative Dramatics for Secondary
Education, w. N. Viola, Expression
Company -- Boston, Massachusetts.

References - Excellent collection of books and
magazines in the Pontiac Senior
High School Library; the largest
of its k d in the State of
Michigan.

Vith.the acceptance of a year's course in dramatics, the

program began to flourish both in the classroom and in the

 

5Itia.

26
extra-curricular vein. Therefore, on December 2, 1925, the
second annual Six-In-One was presented to a standing-room-
only crowd of nine hundred in the High School Auditorium.6

The Pontiac Playcrafters, under the direction of William
Viola, presented ;1_§ays to Adlertigg in the auditorium on
April 15 and 16, 1926. Both performances played to capacity
houses. The enthusiasm of the audiences seemed to transmit
itself to the reporters of the school yearbook.7 A group of
students who were interested in publicizing this play organ-
ized a special committee for that purpose, and called them-
selves The Pontiac Playcrafters. The name and the club
caught on immediately with the students. They asked Uilliam
Viola to act as adviser, and with his help they wrote a con-
stitution for the Pontiac Playcrafters Club, which exists
today as the oldest high school dramatics club still with.an
active membership.

The Playcrafters Constitution was a joint effort on the
part of the students and Mr. Viola. This constitution is
still widely in use in the Pontiac schools today. The con-
stitution is structured as follows:

CONSTITUTION OF THE PLAYCRAFTER
CLUB OF
PONTIAC HIGH SCHOOL

Preamble

We, the students of the dramatics department of
Pontiac High School, appreciating the advantages to

 

69.2..211u same. 1926. p. 9n.
7%.! 19269 P0 960

27

be derived from an association which will give us
practice in stagecraft, do hereby organize ourselves
into a Dramatics Club for such purpose and agree to
be governed by the following Constitution and By-Laws:
ARTICLE I. Name

This organization shall be known as The Play-
crafter Club of Pontiac High School.
ARTICLE II. Members.

Section 1. Any high school student who has been
or is a member of the Dramatics classes or who has
been in the cast or on the stage committees for the
school play is eligible providing he is not a member
of any other club.

Section 2. Mombers must do passing work in three
subjects including Dramatics if enrolled.

Section 3. Students fulfilling the above require-
ments will be given notice of their eligibility.
ARTICLE III. Formal Acceptance.

Section 1. On the meeting following the first
attendance by the new member, he shall be formally
accepted into the organization by a ceremony of
acceptance.

Section 2. This ceremony shall include the
following pledge:

I hereby signify by this manifestation to

do all in my power to uphold and maintain

the high ideals of the Playcrafter Club.
ARTICLE IV. Officers.

Section 1. The officers of this organization
shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary,
a Treasurer, and a Corresponding Secretary.

Section 2. Officers shall be nominated by a
nominating committee, appointed by the president.

Section 3. Officers shall be elected by ballot.

Section 4. The officers shall be elected and
installed at the first meeting of the new term.

Section 5. If a vacancy occurs in any office the
organization shall forthwith hold an election to fill
such vacancy. The officers so elected shall be
installed at once.

ARTICLE V. Duties of Officers.

Section 1. It is the duty of the President to
preside at all meetings, to appoint all committees, to
see that all meetings are conducted in an orderly
unnere

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the Vice-
President to perform all the duties of the president
in the absence of the latter and to be chairman of the
pregram committee providing for each meeting's program.

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the Secretary
to call the roll of the members at each meeting and
note all absences, keep a record of the proceedings
of the organization at each meeting and read the same
from the minute book at the following meeting.

28

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer
to take care of the financial affairs of the organi-
zation, keeping an accurate account in the treasurer's
book. He shall also give receipts for all money
turned in to him.

ARTICLE VI. Meetings and Attendance.

Section 1. The regular meetings of the organi-
zation shall be held on the regular club meeting days
of the school, first and third'Wednesdays, third period.

Section 2. Members of this organization must
attend each regular meeting of the school year.
Members having more than three absences for the school
term will be ineligible.

ARTICLE VII. Dues.

Section 1. The dues of this club shall be thirty

cents to be paid upon formal acceptance into the or-
nization.
ARTICLE VIII. Pins.

Section 1. Each member in the club will have a
representative pin to be bought when he has been a
member for two quarters.

Section 2. A member who becomes ineligible must
present his pin to the club.

ARTICLE IX. Amendments.

Section 1. This constitution may be amended at
any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of the
members present.

ARTICLE x. Board of Directors.

Section I. A board of directors shall be
appointed by the President to investigate the books
of the Secretary and Treasurer to assure the membgrs
that the accounts are neatly and accurately kept.

On November 12, 1926, the Pontiac Playcrafters presented
their first play, Master Pierre Patglin. This unusual play
was a farce in three acts, composed anonymously about
1464 A.D. An added attraction for the audience attending
this play was a unique curtain raiser. Two Playcrafters con-6
structed and presented an original Punch and Judy. The seven

member cast of Master Pierre Patelin found an enthusiastic

reception for its unusual presentation.9

__

8N. N. Viola, Cr ative Dramatics for Secondar Education
(Expression Company Publishers, 1932), p. 12-15.

9Qp,ci§., Pontiac Daily Press, November 13, 1926, p. 2.

29

The third annual production of Sinyne-AcQZPIng,was
successfully presented by the Pontiac Dramatic Classes on
December 3 of that same year. This group of one-acts was
directed by students who were under the supervision of
William Viola. The production received the assistance of
the music department in the form of the school orchestra
under the direction of H. s. Wonger.1°

The following production that school year was Qgppy
[Rigkg which.was presented.Apri1 28 and 29, 1927. Two
capacity houses witnessed one of William Viola's most suc-
cessful productions. A firm believer in publicizing his pro-
ducticns, Viola outdid himself with this play. Signs in all
areas of the community, half-page ads in the Pontiac Daily
.ggggg, and personalized publicity blotters were just a few
of the highly productive features used by Mr. Viola and his
publicity committee to fill the house.11

On December 2, 1927. William Viola directed the fourth
annual Si; One-Act Plays. These plays were presented to a
capacity house at the high school.12

The Poor Nut, which was produced on March 29, 1928, and
ran for two performances, developed into one of William
Viola's most successful plays. The students seemed to show

more interest than usual in this production. Approximately

b

1°Ibid., December 4, 1926, p, 6,
11M.) April 299 19279 p. 5e
1292.212" 9.2122. 1928. p. 42.

30

360 students took part in the promotion of this play. The
school paper published a supplement with the weekly paper
Just to publicize The Poor Egg. A twenty-one piece orchestra
supplied music for the two full houses. A display of adver-
tising posters was set up in the lobby with the audience
voting for the best one. A local drug store sold tickets and
served a special Poor Nut sundae. All the publicity used for
this show enabled the play to run an extra performance when
nearly 2,500 tickets were purchased. The entire production
was called an outstanding achievement.13

A successful evening of one-acts was produced by William
Viola's dramatics classes when the fifth annual Six-In-Ong
was presented to a good house on December 7, 1928.1“

The first production in 1929 opened March 21 and ran
for three performances with nearly every seat occupied.
Nappin' Wharf, an exciting pirate story, was presented by a
“skillful cast, with appropriate costumes which the students
constructed, a picturesque stage, with fine lighting and sound
effects.'15

December 12 and 13 of that year found the sixth annual

Six-In-Ong directed by Villiam Viola being split so that

 

13nggi§., Pontiac Dail Press, March 28, 1928, p.8.
luriles of William Viola, Director of Dramatic Arts, Pontiac

High School, Pontiac,Michigan, which.were presented to the
writer by the director's wife.

1592L9i1., Pontiac Dail Press, March 22, 1929, p. 16.

31

three one—act plays could be presented one evening and three
the following evening.16

George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's play, ghg_§gzgl
Tamil , was presented to “three thoroughly entertained
capacity houses" on April 10, 11, and 12, 1930, in the high
school auditorium. The Samuel French Company allowed Pontiac
to be the first high school in the country to produce this
modern comedy which had Just finished a highly successful run
on Broadway.17

On December b, 5, and 6, 1930, the seventh.annual gig:
In-One was presented. Three one-act plays were presented on
the #th, three on the 5th and the best three of the six were
presented on December 6th to over 500 entertained viewers.18

The first play in 1931 found Mr. Viola producing Daddy
Long Legs. The play was double cast to allow one cast to
play on April 15 and another to play on the 16th, with a
panel of Judges selecting the best actors to do the show
April 17 and 18. The reviewer felt that this play was done
in 'near professional skill" and the two-dimensional set of
a sumptuous library with vari-colored overdrapes and an old
English fireplace set a Ibeautiful picture' for the “excellent
casts'I which were rehearsed for twelve weeks prior to the
opening.19

1602.cit., Files of William Viola

17Interview with Mrs. William Viola, wife of Mr. William
Viola, September 16, 1960.

 

1392g2;3., Pontiac Dail Press, December 8, 1930, p. 8.

19112.12” April 16. 1931. p. 8.

32

December 3, 4, and 5, 1931, were the dates of the annual
gas—Act Festive , formerly titled Six-In-One. Costumes and
furniture for these one-acts were lent to the dramatic classes
by Pontiac merchants who had always been very willing to lend
costumes and props to‘Uilliam Viola for his productions.20

Little lomen came to the Pontiac High School stage on
April 13, 14, 15, and 16, 1932. Four “enchanted capacity
audiences'I witnessed and creation of the March family and
their home. An excellent cast playing amid a Ibeautiful
French Provincial settingI gave the community an opportunity
to see the 'fine artistic sense of WilliamViolaJ21

Hr. Viola's ninth annual Qnquct Festival was presented
to nearly 2,000 viewers on December 15, 16, and 17, 1932.22

The popular comedy, Peg Q' g: Hear , was directed by
William Viola on April 19, 20, and 21, 1933. The reporter
covering this play for the local paper felt that this was one
of the finest casts ever to appear on a Pontiac stage. Such
difficult situations as an electrical storm and a vicious dog
fight were handled with 'professional competence.”23

December 6, 7, and 8, 1933, marked the tenth.anniver—
sary of the One-Act ngtival of Mr. Viola's Dramatics classes.

 

2°02.git., files of William Viola.

2¥92gg;g., Pontiac Da Press, April a, 1932. p. 9.
2292.0it., Files of William Viola.

23Op.ci§., Pontiac Daily Press, April 4, 1932

33

These one-act plays were presented to the usual large audience
in the high school auditorium.2u

Aggie, a comedy in three acts, was produced on the high
school stage February 23 and 29, 1934. This was the premiere
performance of this play. William Viola was asked by Lee
Owen Snook of Row, Peterson and Company to direct and produce
the comedy as a test performance, after which he arranged the
prompt book for publication. After a Ivery competent. per-
formance by the students both the play and the prompt book
received wide usage by other high school groups around the
country.25

One of the most outstanding and long-remembered produc-
tions to be given at Pontiac High School was Booth Tarkington's
memorable ngenteen. ‘William‘Viola received the permission
of John Thors, the high school principal, during early re-
hearsals to run as many performances as he could sell tickets.
Little did Mr. Thors realize that William Viola would sell
tickets for this production to an extent that he filled
eleven houses before the principal had to call a halt to the
continuation of performances of Seventeen on April 27, l93h.
Needless to say the production itself was one of Mr. Viola's
finest achievements as a high school director. The fact that

nearly ten thousand citizens and students saw the production

is proof that it was of an exceptional nature.26

 

”mg... Files of William Viola.
25Ibis.

2eluterviewwith C. T. Forsman, Assistant Principal of Pontiac
Central High School, Pontiac, Michigan, October 18, 1960.

3H

The eleventh annual production of the OneeAct festival

 

was presented on December 5, 6, and 7, 193b. William Viola
dedicated the production to the Director of Instrumental
Music, Dale Harris, and to the high school band for their
years of helpful and talented assistance.27

Following on the heels of the highly successful Seven-
,yggg came the high school's presentation of Tarkington's
Clarencg. The production played to four near-capacity houses
on April 10, ll, 12. and 13, 1935.28

On December 5, 6, and 7, 1935, the dramatics classes of
Mr. William Viola presented the high school's twelfth annual
Que-Ag! ngtival. This was a notable production, in that the
program carried a last-page notation that Mr. Viola had
authored a book entitled One-Act Festival Pla s, containing
a collection of six original short plays that he had written
and directed during past Pontiac festivals.29

The Family Upstairs was‘William Viola's play selection
for April 15, 16, and 17, 1936. Despite the fact that this
play did not receive the publicity given to the two former
Booth Tarkington plays, the reviewer stated that many felt
that this production was the "best seen on the Pontiac stage

in several years" and that other observers of the play felt

that this was probably the "fastest moving" and "most dynamic
since The Royal Family" in April, 1930.30

 

27Op.cit., Piles of William Viola.

2892y2;1., Pontiac Dail Press, April 11, 1935, p. 9.
29Op.cit., Files of William Viola.

3°92ygig., Pontiac Dail Press, April 16, 1936, p. 9.

35

The thirteenth Onefigct Festival was presented to three
near-capacity houses on December 9, 10, and 11, 1936. This
production was well received by those who attended the three
performances and observed the inexperienced members of William
Viola's beginning Dramatics classes.31

The premiere performances of Youth Marches On was pre-
sented to three capacity houses on.April 1b, 15, and 16, 1937.
William Viola both wrote and directed this "enJoyable play of
enduring faith in the children of today." The audience was
visibly impressed by the acting and elaborately furnished set.32

The year 1937 saw a change in the annual Ops-Act
zestiva . Hr. Viola felt that the new title afforded an
opportunity for greater variety during the evening's program
in the art of drama. Therefore, December 1, 2, and 3, 1937,
saw a program that included interpretive readings, marionettes,
one-act plays, and music for the entertainment of the audience.33

One of the most successful plays in American theatrical
history was the Spring selection in 1938. Abig's Irish Rose
was presented to four full houses on April 27. 28, 29, and 30
that year. The concensus of cpinion according to the reviewer
seemed to be that this production could easily be considered
"one of the two or three most successful" productions in

William Viola's long list of playo.3“

 

311bic., December 12, 1936, p. 7.

321bis., April 15, 1937. p- 12-
33cp.cit., Files of William Viola.

3§gpgglg., Pontiac Dail Press, April 28, 1933, p. 11.

36

lgglgy'was William Viola's only play selection for April,
1939. This was the second presentation of this play on the
high school stage. The first production had been given in
March, 1926, and marked one of Mr. Viola's first plays at
Pontiac. The second production was played to four near-
capacity houses on April 12, 13, 14, and 15. The production
was a marked success and was highlighted by the reception
following each performance to allow the audience to meet
both the 1939 cast and the 1926 cast of‘gglgy.35

March 6, 7, and 8, 1940, saw that year's only play,
W, presented on the high school stage. The reviewer
covering the play for the local press felt that a singular
professional atmosphere was created by the entire produc-
tion.36

June Had was Mr. Viola's choice for production on
March 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1941. Four full houses for the
school's one production of that year conceded that this was
another "typically outstanding" Viola production. The cast,
"as usual, seemed to thoroughly enJoy every moment they were
on stage as they rollicked through this happy comedy."37

In the Hall of 1941, William Viola, after receiving
many requests, decided to produce a dramatic production once

a year. His first annual drama was Charles Rann Kennedy's

story of brotherhood, The Servant In The Housg. This

”also. April 13. 1939, p. 12.

36Ibid., March 7, 1940, p. 10.

37Ibia., March 20, 1941, p. 13.

37

production received initial success when it was presented to
capacity houses on December 4 and 5, 1941.38

The annual comedy of 1942 was presented on March 18,
19, 20, and 21. Over 3,000 persons attended the four per-
formances of 320 College Avenge that Spring. Those in attend-
ance felt that the cast of students handled this play of
comedy and murder with polish and finesse.39

William Viola, after considering the state of affairs
throughout the world, decided that a comedy rather than a
dramatic production might be better for the spirits of a comp
munity already geared for war and war production. Therefore,
1g: Lovgly Duckling was presented in the auditorium on
December 2, 3, and 4, 1942. Mr. Viola credited capacity
houses to an excellent publicity campaign carried on by the
student publicity committee. The highlights of this produc-
tion were the good cast and exceptional setting that was

originally designed for this production by W. N. Viola.“o

Every Pagily Has One was the annual comedy.presented on
April 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, 1943. Five capacity audiences gave
an "enthusiastic response" to this relaxing comedy. Everyone
in attendance gave special tribute to the director, who was
celebrating twenty years as Director of Dramatics at Pontiac

High school.“1

 

38Op,git., Files of William Viola.

39mg” Pontiac Dail Press, March 19, 1942, p. 15.
“03314., December 3, 1942, p. 12.

41;2;Q.' April 7, 1943, p. 10.

38

March 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1944, were the dates for
the production of Sigteen In Aggus . This comedy about teen—
agers was played to nearly 4,000, many being servicemen
admitted without charge. The final performance of this play
was memorable for the presentation of all the ticket receipts,
which totaled over $1,500, to a fund which was to enable
Pontiac to build its own athletic stadium.u2

The curtains on the Pontiac stage were opened on
December 6, 1944, for the first of four performances of gag;
F905 Forward. The reviewer stated that many felt that the
girls in the cast were a little weak in comparison to the
boys who turned in some excellent performances. The interior
of the boys' dormitory was considered a particularly excellent
set that added much to this production.“3

Over 5,000 persons saw Mr. Viola's production of,;
Conngctigut Iankee in Kigg Arthur's Court on March 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, 1945. This "excellent production"
was complemented by a good cast and set. It received "Just
that extra bit of professional quality" from a supply of cos-
tumes rented from New York. The proceeds of this production
‘were given to the War memorial Scholarship Fund at Michigan
state College.““

Come Rain or Shine was the Fall production at the high
school in 1945. The four performances, beginning with one

 

”21bid., March 15, 1944, p. 10.
u31bid., December 7, 1944, p. 14.
M‘Ibid., March 15, 1945, p. 13.

39

on November 27, were presented to near-capacity audiences
which were "quite impressed" with the entire production.“5

The senior high school was the scene for William Viola's
production of Aggggome the Spgigg later in the school year on
March 26, 27, 29, and 30, 1946, before four houses which were
complete sellouts. All the audiences seemed to be "visibly
impressed" with the "ability of the young cast."l‘6

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length
Children's Theatre play to be done at the high school, was
presented on October 18 and 19, 1946. With two matinee per-
formances and two early evening performances, over 2,000
Pontiac children had an opportunity to see this delightful
children's story. "If smiles, wide-eyes, and laughter" are
any criteria of success, then the entire production seemed
to have achieved complete satisfaction.“7

Considering the success of Snow White, Mr. Viola
decided to follow this up with another Children's Theatre
production. Therefore, October 15, 16, and 17, 1947, saw
three matinees and one evening performance of Madge Miller's
The Land of the Dragon. The children were reported to be
delighted with the oriental costumes and colorful sets that

created the desired effect of this story from the far east.he

“igpig., November 28, 1945, p. 11,
“glplg., march 27, 1946, p. 14.
“7339., October 19, 191:7, p. 11.
“9gplg., October 17, 1947, p. 23.

40

Following right on the heels of The Land of the Dragon
came the mystery farce figgshacgle‘ggg. December 3, 4, and 5,
1947, were the dates that three near-capacity houses watched
the curtain go up on one of Mr. Viola's "finest" productions.
The "excellent performances" of the cast and "outstanding
colonial interior" designed by William Viola were a fitting
tribute to the director and his last play, for William Viola
was to suffer a fatal heart attack Just a few days after this
production closed."9

' William Viola's contributions to dramatics at Pontiac

High School were many. He was given his position as dramatics
director in 1924 at which time the position was created.
Before William Viola brought his ideas and organizing ability
to the high school, dramatics had been loosely organized and
almost completely unstructured. Nevertheless, William Viola
was in a few short years able to (l) organize and develOp a
course of study for a course in dramatics, (2) outline his
obJectives for two successive dramatic courses, (3) initiate
an active dramatics club dedicated to the continued growth of
this area in the high school, and (4) develop an active play
production program that saw the high school present two or
three full length plays and a one-act festival each year.

Along with the new plays, programs, and courses estab-
lished by William Viola was also the man's ability to interest
student, teacher, and the community itself in supporting the

 

ugIbid., December 4, 1947, p. 26.

41
efforts of his producing groups. The coming years at Pontiac
High School were to give ample evidence of the organization
and lasting influence of William Viola's efforts to institute
a high quality dramatics program in the Pontiac school system.

CHAPTER IV

In September, 1948, the Pontiac Board of Education
hired Miss Mary Parrish as a teacher of Speech and Dramatics
at Pontiac High School. After having spent several very suc-
cessful years at Ypsilanti High School, Miss Parrish began to
carry on the work of the late William Viola by directing the
Children's Theatre production of Aladdin and His Wonderful
.Lgmp. This play was given for three afternoon and one evening
performances, the three matinees being for the elementary and
Junior high children and the evening for the adults. The
afternoon showings were viewed by 2,000 "thrilled and approv-
ing" children. Both children and adults seemed visibly
impressed with the student actors and the lavish background
of colorful metallic luster and professional costumes from
Hooker and Howe of Massachusetts. The Pontiac Daily Press
reviewer felt that this excellent production boded fine plays
in the future, under the direction of Miss Mary Parrish.1

On January 19, 1949, the Pontiac Playcrafters under the
sponsorship of Mary Parrish held their annual Parents Recep-
tion. Over one hundred parents and many former Playcrafters
attended. Exhibits of costumes, stage sets, sound and light-
ing effects, and make-up occupied the program. During the
latter part of the evening, three one-act plays were given,

directed by Miss Parrish with a student director as assistant.

 

1Pontiac Dail Press, November 18, 1948.
42

43
The plays were Hi h Window, a mystery, Reguigm, and Th2
Wonder Hat, a comedy.2 The Wonder Hat was also presented to
the entire student body at an all-school assembly in the high
3

school on February 9.
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, by Cornelia Otis Skinner
and Emily Kimbrough, was produced at the high school under
the direction of Mary Parrish on March 23, 24, 25, and 26,
1949. The main problem presented by this play was the
matter of costuming the cast. The peOple of Pontiac were
appealed to for help in locating clothes of the 1920 vintage.
Fortunately, the community opened its attics and basements
and allowed the costume committee to select sufficient suits
and dresses for the cast.“
Miss Parrish also arranged an opportunity for the various
clubs in the high school to gain a profit for their club
treasuries by selling tickets to Our Hearts Were Young and
gay. This method helped to fill four capacity houses and
allowed the clubs to make five cents on each ticket they sold.
Miss Parrish's second year at Pontiac found her direct-
ing the Playcrafters' Children's Theatre production of 511$;
in Wonderland. Three matinee performances were presented on
October 12, 13, and 14, 1949, and an evening performance on

October 12. The three matinee performances were played to

 

21bid., January 20, 1949, p. 17.
3Ibid., March 24, 1949, p. 12.

1’The Tomahaw , March 12, 1949, p. l.

44

capacity crowds of youngsters, while over four hundred adults
and high school students attended the evening performance.5

December 7 through 10, 1949, saw Moss Hart and George S.
Kaufman's popular comedy, The Man Who Came to Dinner, on the
Pontiac High School stage. This production, directed by Mary
Parrish, received an "enthusiastic" reception at all three
performances by some 1,500 Pontiac playgoers.6

Before the last half of that school year of 1949-1950
started, Mary Parrish submitted a change of dramatics curricu—
lum to the high school principal. Up to this point Miss
Parrish had followed William Viola's course outline, but now
she requested and received permission to have dramatics cover
two semesters. These two dramatics courses were labeled
Speech VII and VIII.

Speech VII

1. The main objectives are the same as for other

speech courses.

A. To develop poise and self-confidence and the
resulting physical coordination.

B. To develOp the best and most pleasant possible
speaking voice.

C. To encourage logical thinking.

D. To develop an appreciation for speech and its
importance.

E. To instill in the students critical standards
of what is good and bad speech.

II. ObJectives specific to the course.
A. To teach knowledge of the structure of a play.
B. To make the student familiar with all types
of drama.
0. To teach the history of drama and staging,
showing the influence on the present times.

 

5gp.cit., Pontiac p511; Press, October 13, 1949, p. 10.
6Ibid., December 8, 1949, p. 4.

III.

IV.

I.

“5

D. To teach the different types of stage settings.
I. To familiarize the students with stage
terminology.
F. To promote extensive reading of plays.
G. To develOp better personal adJustment through
group activity.
1. the ability to take constructive criticism
2. punctuality
3. dependability
4. soaperation
5. adaptability
. concentration
7. attention to detail
8. initiative
9. appearance
10. emotional stability

Materials
to Text: Oman": W
B. Additional texts for reading:
Knickerbocker: §E2££_Eléll
Short Plays for Classroom
ntehpretation
Suggested Procedures for the first marking period.
A. Introduction to the course
1. Why take dramatics?
2. List the qualities desirable for any
student to cultivate.
3. Which of these can be gained in the course?
B. Th play and its structure
1. Read.the first few pages of several plays
to show steps in exposition.
2. Head Two Crooks and a Lady to illustrate
both theme and plot development.
3. Show how characters are developed by read-
ing The Stepmother.
4. Discuss the elements of dialogue, acting,
and situation.
5. Use passages on pp. 30-41 in text to show
how to study a play.
C. The types of drama -- pp. 42-52 in text.
1. Study all types.
2. Read plays to illustrate.

D. As a special assignment each student is to
read and write critical reviews on five one-
act plays each week.

Speech VIII - an advanced course in Dramatics

The main obJectives are the same as listed for
Speech VIIe

II.

III.

IV.

46
Specific ObJectives

A. To promote further reading and evaluating of

plays.

B. To develOp a sincere appreciation and ability
to offer fair criticism of the theatre.

C. To improve poise and physical grace by exten-
sive use of pantomime and exercise in free-
dom of gestures.

D. To improve posture and carriage, and show how
posture and physical appearance determine the
first impression a person makes, on stage or
off.

E. To study the seven voice qualities and improve
the students' quality and diction.

F. To develop flexibility of gesture and voice.

G. To study the basic principles of acting and
characterization.

H. To show the technique of taking a character
from the printed page and preparing it for
interpretation.

I. To familiarize the students with the basic
principles of make-up.

J. To continue the development of personal
adJustment through group activity.

Materials
A. Text: Ommaney: The Sta e and 8 heel
B. Supplementary Text: Calvert: The Problem; of
an Actor (library)
C. Max Factor's nine Make-up Booklets (ordered for
each student)
D. Recordings from the library
1. Low Sarett: Collected Poems
2. Masefield: Voice of Poetry

3. Album of Stars
4. Private Lives

5. Drinkwater: ghe Speaking of Versg

Suggested materials and procedures for the first
marking period.
A. Evaluating the Play (pp. 105-116 in text)
B. Training the Actor
1. Training the bod (pp. 121-129)
2. Pantomime (129—1 2)
3. Voice and Diction (pp. 129-188)
a. voice qualities
b. exercises to illustrate each
4. An original monologue showing a character
whose posture, gestures, and voice quali-
ties are not the student's normal qualities.
a. writing the monologue
b. memorizing and giving

47

V. Second Marking Period

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

F.

Characterization (Pp. 189-215)

Acting (pp. 216-235)

A thorough study of_the technique of prepar-
ing a role for the stage.

Study of the principles as set forth in
Calvert's Problems of an Actor.

Study of plays and types of roles to be
enacted by each student.

Assignment of each student to a role in a
one-act play to be given in class.

VI. Third Marking Period

A.
B.

C.

D.

The presenting of the one-act play.

A re-examining of techniques used and an

evaluation of the accomplishment.

Hake-up

1. Study of straight stage make-up

2. Actual application

3. Making up to show age

b. Special types

5. Sears and special effects

6. As a special assignment, each student
designs, plans, and does a special
character make-up of his own choosing.

Study of the technique of platform reading

of plays.

Presentation of a platform reading of a three-

act play by each student, showing the deve10p-

ment of a major character in the play.

v11. Bibliography. Same as for Speech vn.7

To each student electing the beginning Dramatics course, Miss

Parrish would issue her list of objectives in offering this

course. This list appeared to be of value to all students

taking this course in that it gave them a clear perception of

directed purposes. Further, it provided the school's admin-

istration with the objectives of their high school's Dramatics

GOIII'SOB e

 

7Piles of Mary Parrish. Material was located in a filing
case in the dramatics workshOp, Pontiac High School.

l.

\OCI) N) O\ Kit-F“
O

10.
ll.
12.
13.
1h.
15.
16.

17.
18.
19.

20.

48
Objectives in Educational Dramatics

To aid in the development of personality.

To establish standards of criticism of the drama
and the theatre.

To present in brief outline the history of the
theatre and its function during the great periods
of its history.

To promote attendance at good plays.

To educate the emotions by analysis of emotional
activities in plays and in life studies.

To educate the senses by pantomime and bodily
exercise.

To develop standards of appreciation of good
dramatic literature.

To educate for active leisure.

To form a conception of the theatre as the most
social and democratic of the arts.

To study human character and personality as
observed in life and as portrayed in drama.

To free the student from inhibitions and set
attitudes.

To understand the simpler forms of acting tech-
nique and the elements of stage design.

To arouse interest in the various theatre arts

in play production.

To break down reserve and restraint and to arouse
the pupil's imagination.

To provide education for citizenship through
dramatic art.

To develop in the pupil the knowledge, interest,
ideals, habits, and powers whereby he will be
able to find his place in community life and
will be able to use that place to shape both
society and himself toward nobler ends.

To become familiar with stage personages, actors,
producers, and playwrights.

To become familiar with current events concerning
the theatre and drama.

To obtain a knowledge of the actor's technique in
pantomime, voice, English, pronunciation, enun-
ciation, make-up and poise.

To become familiar with some of the auxiliaries
of dramagics, as: costume, setting, and lighting
effects.

The Pontiac High School Speech Department brought three

IentertainingI evenings for Pontiac playgoers as the Play-

crafters presented Januar Thaw, directed by Mary Parrish, on

L

81bid., (Files of nary Parrish)

#9

March 15, 16, and 17, 1950. Three near-capacity audiences
"enthusiastically'l received this play. The Pontiac Daily
.2391; reviewer commented on “the professional lookI that was
achieved by the I'excellent scenery and costumes' that added
just the right details for a “highly talented young cast.'9

Three matinees and one evening performance of 22m
Sawyer were presented by the Children's Theatre of Pontiac
High School on October 10, ll, 12, and 13, 1950. Using no
backdrOps or stage settings facilitated the moving of the
entire production to Clarkston High School in Clarkston,
Michigan, where the play was well received by a capacity
crowd of 600 in the high school auditorium on October 26 of
that year.10

Following close on the heels of 39m Sawyer, the Pontiac

 

High School Speech Department est December 6, 7, and 8, 1950,
as the dates for three evening performances of Our Town.

This production gave the playgoers of Pontiac their first
look at something very new and different in the manner of
staging a play. Almost no prOperties and even less scenery
was used in this play which depends heavily on lighting
effects and good acting to hold the audience's attention.
Despite this innovation in staging, the play and the acting
of the high school cast gave a I'memorable performance' to

nearly 2,000 who attended the performances.11

 

9Qp.ci§., Pontiac Dail Press, March 16, 1950, p. 6.
10Ibig., October 11, 1950, p. 9.

lllbid., December 7, 1950, p. 11.

50

Seventeenth Summer was the play Mary Parrish chose for

the annual spring production of 1951. This play was produced

on March 9, 10, 1h, 15, 16, and 17 in the Penthouse Theatre.

The Penthouse Theatre refers to the arena production done in

the girls' gymnasium in the high school. In an article which

appeared in the high school paper, this staging was described

as

central staging, or the theatre-in-the-round, where
the audience partly or completely surrounds the act-
ing area. The term Penthouse is adapted from the
University of Washington's Penthouse Theatre, the
first successful theatre of its kind.

Although central staging has been used only for
the past decade, it is actually not a new theatre
vogue. The oldest theatre in the world, the Greek,
followed the plan; and for centuries man has gathered
in an intimate circle around a campfire to share
tales, dances, and dramatic skits. Its history in
our country dates from Glenn Hughes' Penthouse
Theatre at the University of Washington in 1942,
followed successively by Margo Jones in Dallas in
19h7, Don Gibson at the Ansley Hotel in Atlanta in
l9h9, The Ring Theatre in Miami in 1950, finally
reaching Broadway the same year - and now Pontiac
in 1951.

The Pontiac High School director wants Pontiac
to be one of the first high schools to try this new,
yet old, staging that is proving to be justifiably
popular.

Central staging has been called the I'moving
picture" of the stage, since it allows more people
the Iclose-up' that is denied all except those for-
tunate people in the front rows in the traditional
theatre. Seated not more than three or four rows
from the playing area, the audience is in close con-
tact with the actors, an intimacy impossible in the
larger theatre. Description cannot convey the spell
of being able to lean forward and read expressions
in the actors' eyes and detect the slightest possible
tremor in a voice that lets us know the heartbreak
back of it long before the gesture that would convey
it to the audience of the traditional theatre.

51
Mary Parrish, the director, is eager to have

peeple of Pontiac share with thizstudents this pro-

gressive experiment in staging.

The Pontiac Daily Press reported that Seventeenth Summer
was a magnificent production and, despite the close proximity
of audience to acting area, the actors never appeared to be
aware of any presence but their own. The reporter felt that
there was not any particular performer who stood out, but
that it was a simple case of expert teamwork, timing, and
directing that led to the complete success of this pro-
duction.13

Seventeenth Summer in the Penthouse Theatre was so suc-
cessful that Mary Parrish elected to do her fall production
of Brother Goose in a similar manner on November 29, 30, and
December 1, 3, h, and 5, 1951. A full house of over 1,000
Pontiac playgoers both laughed and sympathized.with this
"delightfulil production of Brother Goose when it opened
November 29.1“

Miss Parrish selected Arsenic and Old Lace as her winter
production in 1952. With the addition of a second dramatics
and speech teacher, Mary Parrish was able to turn over much
of the technical procedure for the production to Miss Prancile

Vorthman, who was to assist Mary Parrish as technical direc-

tor for several years. The critic from the Pontiac Daily

 

1.2%.! We February 209 19519 P0 7.

13921212.. Wages. March 10. 1951. p. 6.
151212.. Nova-bar 30. 1951. p. 12.

52

Press, Mrs. Patricia D. Wood, gave her readers a high rec-

commendation of Arsenic and Old Lace after witnessing the

opening production February 27.

Pontiac High School's thespians added another gem
to their crown of shining performances when Arsenic

and Old Lace opened Wednesday evening. The youthful

dramatists, coached by Mary Parrish, drew laugh after
laugh from first nighters - and held the audience
breathless through tense, dramatic scenes - as they
unfolded Joseph Kesselring's mystery-comedy with a
polish and flair unusual in amateur dramatics. Teen-
agers snapped into their stage personalities and
stayed there throughout the play, although the drama
requires an unusual amount of character acting, with
few straight roles.

Although the last few plays have been presented
in circle theatre style, Miss Parrish's proteges
showed up better than ever in traditional staging.

New lights in the school auditorium were used
to best advantage, under Arthur Tyrell's direction,
in unusual lighting effects needed for many scenes.15

April 22-25. 1952. saw the Children's Theatre produc-

tion of The Clown Who Ran Away, directed by Mary Parrish,
open on the high school stage. The sales promotion for the

entire production was handled by the Pontiac chapter of the

Association for Childhood Education.
of teachers, parents, and administrators agreed to sell 3,500
tickets for the four performances.
sold in all the Pontiac elementary schools.

it was agreed that the Association use this annual production

For their help,

as their money-making project. The Association would split

all money taken in on their ticket sales on a fifty-fifty

basis with the high school Speech Department.16

 

151bid., February 28, 1952, p. 8.

16

Op.ci§., Tomahawk, April 20, 1952, p, 1,

This professional group

They were distributed and

53

The play itself was a complete success in the minds of
the 3,b00 Pontiac elementary school children who attended the
four afternoon performances of this charming children's play.
The Association felt that the ticket—selling project was both
I'enjoyable and financially profitable“ to their entire mem-
bership, as they were quite willing to start immediately on
the next children's production.17

To start off the new school year, Mary Parrish directed
Huckleberry Finn. The production, which ran from October 17
through 20, received a standing room crowd for each perfor-
mance, thanks to the sales effort of the women of the Associa-
tion for Childhood Education. Four capacity crowds of young-
sters were 'delightedl by the crew of rustic Mississippi
River characters that paraded across the Pontiac High School
stage.18

December 3, h, and 5, 1952, saw Miss Parrish bring the
popular comedy, Harvey, to the Pontiac High School stage.
The city's play-going residents brought the “talented“ cast
back time and time again for curtain calls as this “excellent"
comedy was culminated.19

On March 18, 1953, Miss Mary Parrish directed the
delightful musical, Annie Get Your Gun. Three full houses
witnessed this I'fine" production which combined the talents

of many high school students with those of several youngsters

 

17prgi§., Pontiac Dail Press, April at, 1952, p. 12.
181bid., October 18, 1952, p. 5.
19Ibid., December 4, 1952, p. 7.

5b

from the early elementary grades. Along with the actors
themselves, the audience was "especially impressed“ with the
efforts of the costume committee, which borrowed and con-
structed the "excellent“ costumes for the 66 member cast,
and the work of the stage crew, which constructed the six
different sets for this relatively difficult production.
The music was supplied by an organ played by one of the high
school students.20

A “world of fantasy“ appeared before the "enchanted
eyes'I of Pontiac grade school youngsters on November 10-13,
1953. According to the newspaper review, these youngsters
viewed the Pontiac High School Playcrafters Children's
Theatre production with a "mixture of awe, laughter and

delightI as the beloved fairy tale Cinderella was unfolded

 

before them. In this production Mary Parrish introduced a
new style to the Pontiac stage. The production made “no
attempt at realism; it strived, in fact, to achieve an ani-
mated fantasy which to all observers, greatly enhanced the
ultimate effect.'21

On March 1?, l95h, Pontiac High School's production of
M'rI Peepers Opened for three performances. Playing to a
total audience of 1,500, according to the Pontiac Daily Press,
the play was given an “appreciative reception" for its

"unusual finesse' and 'good sense of timing“ in handling the

“subtle! characterizations.22

 

2°Ibid., November 12, 1953. p. 8.
21Ibid., November 12, 1953, p. 8,
22;p;q., March 18, 1954, p. 11.

55

The Pontiac High School Speech Department, under the
guidance of Mary Parrish, brought to the school stage on
May 18, 195k, for three performances, the unusual comedy-
fantasy titled Green Valley. The newspaper reported that the
fantasy was performed with a “delicate twist of the super-
natural, spiced with the hearty flavor of frequent laughter,
and enacted with perfected balance.“ Despite the “excellence
of the production,“ the small ticket sale of only 500 for
three performances caused Miss Parrish to decide that May was
too late in the school year to present plays. Therefore,
this was the last production at Pontiac High School to be
given after the middle of April.23

Jack andfthe BeanstaTT was presented to capacity houses
on October 19, 20, 21, and 22, 195k. An “exceptional“ cast
and an “outstanding“ technical crew made this an “excellent"
Children's Theatre production. The audience “seemed to feel
that the delightful characterizations“ and “highly imagina-
tive sets and make-up“ such as this “were rarely seen in

amateur productions.“2u

December 1, 2, and 3, 195b, saw On Borrowgd Time arrive
on the high school stage. A combination of high school and
elementary students combined to give this play an “enthusias-
tic“ presentation to 1,500 Pontiac playgoers. The Pontiac

Press reviewer wrote that “this play moved smoothly and with

 

231bid., May 19, 195u, p. 16.

21"Ibig., October 20, 195h, p. 19.

56

a polish that has seemed to be traditional with the produc-
tions that Miss Mary Parrish had directed.“25

When the curtain opened on The Land of Oz at Pontiac
High School on March 16, 1955, for three performances, it
revealed a “colorful and beautifully constructed“ set of a
deep brown and tangerine art studio, complete with fireplace
and skylight. Such an “auspicious“ beginning was followed
with an “exciting as well as an amusing production“ which
played to over 1,700 appreciative playgoers.26

Some 4,000 “enchanted youngsters were caught in the
spell“ of The Land of Oz on five successive performances in
October, 1955. Children from twenty-two elementary schools
and four junior high schools were “completely entranced“ with
a cast of “immaginative characters“ that walked right out of
the pages of this Ibeloved fairy tale.“ The technical crew
also Ioutdid themselves with mystic scenery changes“ that
never allowed the curtain to close but seemed a “distinct
part of the play itself.“27

The Pontiac Playcrafters and Mary Parrish brought
Thornton Milder's Our Town to the high school stage on
December 1 and 2, 1955. Nearly 1,300 playgoers were in the
audience to see an excellent performance by a cast of ex-
perienced actors, some of whom listed Our Town as their

eighth consecutive appearance in less than three years.

 

251bid., December 2, l95u, p. 11.
261mm, March 17, 1955, p. 7.

271219.. October 12. 1955. p. 13.

57

Relying on this experienced group, Miss Parrish presented one
of the “most outstanding“ productions she had directed in the
eight years she had been at Pontiac High School.28 -

Strange Boarders was produced on the high school stage
March 1“, 15, and 16, 1956. This “outstanding comedy was
given a welcome reception by the thoroughly entertained
audiences“ which were on hand for the three performances of
the play.29

“Thrilled and excited“ audiences of elementary school
students filled the auditorium of Pontiac High School to
capacity for five consecutive performances of the Children's
Theatre production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thigves. The
“excellent cast“ was dressed in “colorful costumes“ which.had
been made by each cast member from a master pattern created
by Miss Parrish. Nearly h,000 children had an Opportunity to
see this Children's Theatre production produced by the high
school Speech Department through the sponsorship of the
Association for Childhood Education.30

December 5 and 6, 1956, saw the Pontiac curtain rise on
IQAEQ by Reginald Rose. The cast of teenagers played their
own age group in this story of juvenile delinquency with a
natural kinship that enabled these fictitious characters to
“come alive“ for nearly 1,200 playgoers. A platform was built

out from the down-right stage area so that Dino's bedroom

 

231bic., December 2, 1955, p. 5.
291bia., March 15, 1956, p. 14.
3°Ibid., October 16, 1956, p. 8.

58

might be a permanent set, thus giving over the stage to the
larger sets this play requires.31

The last complete play Mary Parrish directed was the
popular comedy by Hart and Kaufman, You Can't Take It With
.123. This production, according to the reviewer, seemed to
have combined “fast-moving dialogue“ and “superior character
interpretation“ to give it just the “right flavor“ this en—
joyable comedy requires. The “entire performance was one of
which Miss Parrish could well be proud.“32

This was Mary Parrish's last production for she, like
William Viola, contracted a fatal disease and passed away the
following winter. Nevertheless, also like William Viola,
Mary Parrish made her own unique and indelible impression on
dramatics at Pontiac High School. For, under Mary Parrish's
leadership, a new course of study for Dramatics was developed.
Miss Parrish also built her Children's Theatre into a per-
manent contribution for the young peeple of Pontiac, and her
willingness to try innovations in staging and costuming led
to new and different theatrical experiences for participant
and audience alike. Mary Parrish was a woman who will not
soon be forgotten by those who worked with her and for her in
an effort to achieve her stated objectives for dramatics at

Pontiac High School.

 

31Ibig” December 8, 1956, p. 10,
321219.. April 6. 1957. p. e.

 

CHAPTER V

The period of June h, 1915, to April G, 1957, brought
a unique growth in the place of drama in the total school
curriculum of Pontiac Central High School. Personnel,
methods, means of production, the numbers of student and
staff involved, and the strength of administrative and com-
munity support increased greatly during this period from
1915 to 1957-

During the early period of dramatic activity, 1915-
1923, plays were selected and produced in a variety of ways
by various school groups. The productions were sponsored by
such groups as the Vocal and Instrumental Music Classes, The
Shakespearean Dramatics Club, the Commencement Committee of
the graduating class of 1916, the advanced English classes,
and the Rhetoric Club. None of the productions staged at
the high school between 1915 and 1923 was ever a recognized
part of the school's curriculum. Each production was cast
from a select membership and thereby never became a function
that received the total support of students and faculty.

Despite the selectivity of the casting, the plays them-
selves seemed to cover a rather wide range of material. The
productions represented everything from the dramas and comedies
of William Shakespeare and Sheridan, through the operettas of
Gilbert and Sullivan, into the light, youthful farce entitled
Comg Qut of the Kitchen.

If the sponsors and productions were of a varied nature,

so was the number of directors who assumed responsibility for

59

60
them. During these years the Vocal Music teacher directed
one or two productions, as did the Rhetoric teacher and
three English teachers. Of these, the Rhetoric teacher was
the first person trained specifically in Speech. Also,
before the arrival of a teacher of Rhetoric, such drama as
was produced was done so by an English class principally for
its literary content. With the hiring of a Rhetoric teacher,
Speech became for the first time a formal part of the cur—
riculum.

In looking closely at this era, it is readily apparent
that the dramatic activity at the high school lacked any
visible pattern. It was still unstructured as to purpose and
method. The number of productions varied from one to two or
three within a school year. The basis of selectivity for the
plays appears to have varied according to the group which
happened to be sponsoring them. Each sponsoring group seemed
to be primarily interested in making its selections in rela-
tion to its own interests and activities. No one group seem-
ed to be aware of any general schoolawide purpose that its
production could possibly serve. Thus the students who were
participating in dramatics did so only through certain speci-
fied memberships in sponsoring clubs or classes. This seemed
to be one of the primary factors in keeping dramatic activity
at the high school keyed to only a highly selective form of

extra-curricular activity.1

 

1Interview with John Thors, former Principal of Pontiac High

School, May 1, 1960.

 

61

Yet the growing student and community interest, shown
by more involved productions playing to apparently larger
audiences, set the stage for a broader program involving
greater participation on the part of the student body
regardless of class standing or club membership.

The second phase of dramatic activity was that encom-
passed by the years l92h to 19n7. This was the period in
which William Viola was employed to teach the Dramatics
classes and direct plays at Pontiac High School. William
Viola brought an ability and insight that was developed by
his theatrical and administrative experiences previous to
his arrival in Pontiac. This experience was gained both as
a dramatics director in community theatre and as a public
school administrator.2

William Viola's growing success with dramatics was also
due to his interest in and extensive use of publicity and
advertising as a method of increasing both student and the
community support of the high school's productions.3 As the
ticket sales increased so did the number of productions
directed by William Viola. Two and sometimes three plays
and/or musicals a year became the accepted number. Along
with the increase in attendance and productions obviously
came a greater Opportunity for large numbers of high school

students to participate on and off the stage.

 

2Interview with Mrs. William Viola, wife of William Viola,
September 16, 1960.

31960 interview with John Thors.

62

In order to cultivate the primary interest of the
students in dramatics, William Viola organized and acted as
advisor to Playcrafters, the high school Dramatics Club,
which is still active today and boasts a past membership in
excess of three thousand and a present membership of nearly
one hundred high school students.

Before William Viola's untimely death in 1947, he also
started a children's theatre program that in later years was
to play to more than ten thousand Pontiac children a year
and, along with the plays and textbooks he wrote, was to help

bring a national reputation to this high school's dramatics
u

program.

The third phase in the growth of Pontiac High School
dramatics program was conducted under the leadership of Miss
Mary Parrish who was hired following the death of William
Viola in 19b? and who was to continue in this capacity until
her own death in 1958. Mary Parrish.was brought to Pontiac
from Ypsilanti following several years as director of
dramatics at that city's high school.5

Mary Parrish not only built upon the strong dramatics
prOgram that had been initiated by William Viola, but she
also developed many new aspects on her own. The children's
theatre production that William Viola had begun just before
his death was made an annual event under Mary Parrish. The

new director sought and gained the sponsorship of the local

 

qu.cit., Interview with John Thors.

51biu.

63
chapter of the American Association of Childhood Education.
This active group of women sold tickets and organized Pontiac
elementary schools so that an average of eight to ten thousand
children a year had the opportunity to see many of the classic
children's stories dramatized by the high school's dramatics
students under the direction of Mary Parrish.

Mary Parrish also develOped a new course of study for
the two dramatics courses. Whereas William Viola's approach
was mainly concerned with the high school students reading
and developing an appreciation for dramatic art, Mary Parrish
was interested in the use and meaning of dramatics as it
relates to the develOpment of a better individual in terms of
behavior and self discipline, with these qualities being
derived from a theory of doing and perceiving in a theatrical
framework.

Mary Parrish found a great deal of satisfaction in
experimenting with various types or styles of production. In
the early fifties she developed a Penthouse Theatre which was
organized in arena style. She used bare stage and few props

with Our Town and built extended platforms out over the

 

audience for Annie Get Your Gun. These and other innovations

 

again caused an increase in yearly productions as well as
school and community support. This continued support, par-
ticularly on the part of the community, carries over even
today, several years after Mary Parrish's death.

It seems that this successful dramatics prOgram, far

from “growed like Topsey,“ grew from a rather typical,

6h
unorganized, high school dramatics program in the early
nineteen-hundreds into a highly organized and smoothly func-
tioning prOgram largely through the efforts of two people.
Both William Viola and Mary Parrish wanted an outstanding
dramatics program, and they were willing to spend time develop-
ing their ideas and then presenting them to various school
administrators. These administrators were in turn so convinced
by the people themselves, as well as the framework these two
had established, that the dramatics prOgrams were permitted
to move ahead.

The students and the community itself were the next to
be convinced that a purposeful dramatics program had a right-
ful place in the public school curriculum. Again it appears
that it was the two peeple involved, possibly even more than
their prOgram, that was to accrue eventual support.

Pontiac is a highly industrial city and thus probably
could be considered as an area in which it would be unlikely
to find strong community support for various cultural activ-
ities. Yet this is exactly what happened in this city.
Certainly then it would seem reasonable to assume that other
persons who are responsible for the high school dramatic pro-
grams could find a helpful lesson from Pontiac High School.

It may well be that here in this study is a possible func-
tional outline for the development of an outstanding dramatics

program for secondary education.

65

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Appendix II
ONE-ACT PLAYS

All the one-act plays presented at Pontiac High School between
l92h and 1957 were directed by individual students and pre-
sented by members of the high school Dramatics classes.

December 5, l92h ringer of God
The Illuminati in Drama Libre
Sir David Wears a Crown
Beau of Bath
gedigine She!
fietween the Soup and the Savorz

December 4, 1925 Solemn Pride
gevertheless
A Fan and Two Candlesticks
The Reward
ThursdaxgEvening
The Mourner

December 3, 1926 The Exchange
Darbx and Joan

Catherine Parr
The:§tolen Prince

The Travelers

.ggint Owners in Spgin

 

 

December 2, 1927 The Ghost Story

For Distinguished Service

2.00.200
Jazu and Minuet

Good Medicine
Ladx Go On

December 7, 1928 The Valiant

Crabbed Youth and Age
Qpera Matinee

Shades of Iii-gm
The Trzsting Place

December 12, 13, 1929 Tickets Please
The Crowsnest
Kitches Hour and Candlelight
The Master Salesman
Three Pills in a Bottle
The Machine Age

 

 

 

71

December h, 5, 6, 1930

December 3, h, 5, 1931

December 15, 16, 17, 1932

December 6, 7. 8. 1933

December 5, 6, 7, l93h

December 5, 6, 7, 1935

72

Boccaccio's Untold Tale

§Qlemn Pride

The Choir Reheggsal

The Other One

The Neighbors

The Blue and Green Mat 0;
Abdul Haesan

 

Submerged
fied Carnations

goint Ownersgin Spain
‘gilver Sligpers
Ehxthe Chimes Rang
‘ghe Great Dark
Travelers

A Message From Khufu

Crinoline and Candlelight
The End of Leonardo Sglitelie

Overtones

The Florist ShoE
Where Lies the Child

Two Crooks and a Lad:
Thank You Doctor

Sir Davigfiwears a Crown
.ghe high Heart
M1 Lady's Lace
The First Christmas Rose

.llg

The Rector

Mrs. Oaklez's Teleghone
égitch on the Moonlight
‘Qimbo the Biratg

The Decimal Point

The Lonelz Hearth
Sauce for the Goslings
The Monke s Paw

I Pair of Lunatics

At the Stroke of Twelve
Unto the Least 0: These

 

 

 

 

 

Crabbed Youth and Age

The Dear De arted
‘ghe Boy Who Discovered Easter

Sparkin'
Miss Civilization

The To Sho

December 9,

December 1,

January 19,

January 25,

January 17,

January 20,

January 18,

January lb ,

10, 11, 1936

2. 3. 1937

1949

1950

1951

195#

1956

1957

73

Singapore Snider
Paradise

Brothers

Miss Nancy's Legacy

An Unprepared Test
Sardines

Ultra

fiyacinths for Christmas

Lucy Lavendar
Undertow

The gummy
ancerningFlorizel
Thregis a Crowd

Egg Belated Christmas Gift

 

The High Window

Reguiem
The Wonder Hat

Minor Miracle
[flurger byMorning

Everything Nice

Balcony Scene

Nobody Sleegs
Turtle Dove

Sgarkin'
Maker of Dreams

Adante
Ladies of the Mag

Don't Feed the Animals
Pink and Patches

Submerged

Three On a Bench
I Shall Be Waiting

Nobody Sleeps

 

 

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muopHmaOAde omapcom

upcoauamnoq
cans: use nooomm

anopHerhmHm omdpcom

maopusao»eam oaapcom

upcospaenon
cans: use noooam

whopueaoheam osaacom

naopudaomdam oddpcom

 

mmoam wmaosuonm

 

Housoaco

huxdsnovmfi 0&9

 

adHHOdm flpaom
Madam

 

 

0::4 no hmman aha

 

Nussom mcamwoam

 

H can mafia one

 

doom 0mm 6&9

 

soaam oaasam

 

«Eonmflxo

 

meow opsq

 

chumpaapoaoassm

 

cauda

Homalnmma aoau voosuoam macaw

HHH xaecodae

Hmma .aa
.mH.NH.HH.oH Haadq

omma .NN.H~
.om.ma.ma asnopoo

omma .N.H flange

on.m~.am.mm sons:
mmma .m.z nopseccc
mmma .mm eonsooen

.3N.MN.NN.HN.ON nonouoo

mmma .mN.mN
.m~.m~.a~.m~ noes:

mmma .na.~a mongoose

wmma .mm.m~
.em.mm.mu amnopoo

wmma .mu
.mm.a~.mm.mm noes:

amma .w.m sensuous

amma .mm.¢m
.mm.m~.a~ escapee

 

Gouda

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books
Quiver, Pontiac High School Yearbook. 1915-1957.

Viola, William N., Creative Dramatics For Secondary Education.
New York: Expression Company Publishers, 1932.

Articles and Periodicals

‘—A—

Pontiac Daily Press. l921-l9h9.
Pontiac High School Tomahawk. 1927-1957.

Pontiac Press. 1950-1957.
Pontiac Press Gazette. 1915-1920.

Unpublished Materials

Parrish, Mary, 'Outline and ObJectives For a Years Course in
High School Dramatics.I Pontiac, Michigan: Pontiac
High School, 19b9. (Mimeographed)

Viola, William N., "Reports to the Superintendent of Schools.“
Pontiac, Michigan: Pontiac High School, 1925.
(Typed)

Other Sources

. Personal interview with C. T. Foreman.
October 18, 1960.

 

__. Personal interview with John Thors, former
Principal. Pontiac High School. May 1, 1960.

 

. Personal interview with Mrs. William Viola.
Rochester, Michigan. September 16, 1960.

 

75

ICHIGQN STRTE UNIV. LIBRRRIES

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