When I began teaching in 1975 there were a lot of things to get
used to. Besides teaching, I was asked to help with coaching. But
another surprise was that each class in the school was tasked with
performing some sort of school-wide assembly program each year.
During my first few years I had my classes enact some of my (and
their) favorite Jack Tales and Grandfather Tales, which had been
hugely popular at Camp Cherokee.
But the most ambitious undertaking of all was in April of 1983,
when I got the idea for a musical "revue" performance. The seeds
of the idea came from the class's response to our spirited singalongs.
But this would go far beyond singing. With the encouragement and
crucial assistance of my assistant, Dawn Horne, and valuable input
from our music teacher, Dell Alford, the project grew. As they say,
it took on a life of its own.
The final production consisted of seven musical acts. The program
had a code to indicated with acts each student chose to perform in.
It was a large and diverse class of 34 students, but they pulled together
from the start, taking the plunge into this endeavor enthusiastically.
Here, I'm going to document the nuts and bolts of that program,
primarily for the nostalgia of those students, of whom more than a
dozen are my Facebook friends. I think they'll be impressed to recall
what they had to memorize for this show. And maybe we'll turn up
a few of their classmates who aren't as easy to find on Facebook.
I hope so. They'll enjoy these memories, too. Here goes.
Here's the inside of the program with a brief
description of the acts. Besides the two performances
at school, we were later invited to perform at Vass-Lakeview
Elementary and then at St. Joseph of the Pines Hospital,
where my wife Judy had formerly worked as a nurse.
(Historical note: At St. Joseph's, we really set the place on
fire. At the end of our performance, we were hustled out of
the building and to our bus. Moments later, we learned there
was a fire in the kitchen as fire trucks rolled up to handle the
situation. Ah, memories!)
Here is the all-star cast of that memorable production.
Refer to the program to see which acts each performed in.
My students decorated the front covers of programs
individually to serve as invitations for the other classrooms
and for parents and special guests. This one was sent to my
childhood piano teacher, Mrs. Louisabeth Griffin. My Atlanta
family still kept in close touch with her, and I knew she'd be
pleased to see the lineup of acts. After her death, her family
returned this program, which she had saved, and my brother
got it back to me.
The following images are the very rough blueprints
which guided every detail of the dances. These were
never intended for public viewing, but here they are.
They tell every step the dancers (or marchers) were to do,
and what the accompanying music would be.
For the opening marching we used lively John Philip
Sousa tunes. I called out marching commands that I had
learned during college at UNC when I was in Air Force ROTC.
The kids were flawless, as in all the acts.
MARCHING
This was the chart for positions in both marching,
the opening act, and "I Got Rhythm," the music for
the closing act. The simple dress code is in the corner.
CLOGGING
For clogging, we were not 100% authentic, but we did
the best we could. Debi Laton, our P.E. teacher, and Dell
Alford, our music teacher worked with us on a couple of
simple clogging steps. We didn't have taps on the shoes,
but the effect and the music got the idea across.
The music was Doc Watson's version of "The Lonesome
Fiddle Blues" from one of my favorite albums: "Will the
Circle Be Unbroken."
As I look over the instructions, I see it's a miracle the students
could memorize all this. What a great accomplishment!
Next was square dancing. I had gotten an old
square dance record at a sale at the Southern Pines
Library. The first dance was called "The Two
Head Ladies Cross Over." We had learned it in
class on rainy days before I got the idea for this program.
Some more details about the clogging are here, too.
SQUARE DANCING
I wonder how many students remembered
who their partners were. As far as I know,
none of them married each other.
THE CAN-CAN DANCE
The Can-Can Dance may have been the liveliest
of all. Again, memorizing their steps was quite a
challenge. This was a huge hit with the audience.
THE UMBRELLA DANCE
The Umbrella Dance was another of my favorites
and looked totally professional. The umbrella props
turned simple moves into show-stopping effects.
It would remind you of dance routines that were
part of every big 1950's and 60's variety show,
such as Ed Sullivan and Red Skelton.
I GOT RHYTHM ...
I don't have a graphic for our closing number in which
every student took part. The arrangement was the same
as for marching. I played "I Got Rhythm" on the old grand
piano while the students sang their hearts out. It ended with
what we called our "Broadway finale," with students going
to one knee with arms outstretched and faces uplifted.
Remembering this performance and other class plays is
a day-brightener for me. This group of students rose to amazing
heights to pull off this unforgettable memory.
Cherish the memories, you guys!
...WHO COULD ASK
FOR ANYTHING MORE?!
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