Page 40 - Priorities #70

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10 Years in the PAC
Ten years ago, the Performing Arts Center, now known as the Rothrock Performance Hall, opened to the delight of the entire Priory community. The cool features like the giant screen that seemed to drop down from the sky, or the actual green room with makeup stations and the immense SPACE brought out “ooooohs” and “aaaaahs” from the crowd on opening day.
A lot has happened in the PAC over the last 10 years. We thought it would be fun to have outgoing choral instructor, Tina Paulson and drama instructor, John Sugden share some of their favorite moments of what they call “moments of beauty, humor, and real artistic connection.”
• All the musicals were awesome–but particularly “Urinetown,” “Drowsy Chaperone,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” and of course, “Jesus Christ, Superstar.”
• The Mechanicals (bottom and crew) in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” making them laugh so hard that they fell out of their seat.
• All the Faculty Talent Shows–but particularly the one where Molly Buccola did “interpretive dance” while Amanda McFadden and Tina did a piano/recorder rendition of “My Heart Will Go On,” or the one when John and Tina did the “One Man Les Mis”–they did ALL of “Les Mis” in about 10 minutes, and John played every character, with costumes and props.
• Several stand-out Pops Concert performances... Concert Choir with the “High School Musical Medley” two years ago, or the entire choral program’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” from about six years ago.
• Chris Gregory’s ‘12 unflinching dedication to out- doing himself with lights every subsequent year of his time here... and how he asked for a key to the PAC when he was a 6th grader...
• “The Laramie Project” was heartbreaking and so beautiful, as was “Twilight: Los Angeles 1992”–our students’ capacity for depth and truth in tackling really hard issues.
• Any time John and Tina performed for events/ galas–“Wonderful Town,” “Priory (Comedy) Tonight,” “This is the Priory (Cabaret)”–and all of the parodying the Performing Arts has done over the years...
MILESTONES
Beauty and the Beast
The Drowsy Chaperone
Chris Gregory
John and Tina