Hats off to St.

Monday, March 20, 2000

Hats off to St. Joseph High School students for producing a show that both amazed audiences and brought back wonderful memories of cruising the streets and sitting down behind the wheel of a beat up old truck.

And the best part of the show was not the excellent choreography or the collage of upbeat music from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was the originality of the production.

Instead of memorizing lines from classic plays, which everyone loves and knows, the students’ performance was completely their own.

It takes talent and dedication to produce a show from scratch. And the students are not the only ones who deserve applause.

Thanks also should be given to Jennifer Rogers and Lisa Adkins, two teachers who took time out of their lives to coach and encourage the students to excel.

The production also would not have been a success without the participation of the school’s art class members, who built the set that included two cars.

Those students had to not only paint and create the set, they had to also come up with a way to move two vehicles into the school.

Projects such as these do more than give students an appreciation for the arts. They create independent thinkers and motivate students to be creative.

Anyone who missed out on this year’s performance missed out on something special.

But there is always next year. And next year’s variety show promises to be one of the best.

The year 2001 marks the 25th anniversary of the St. Joseph Variety Show and if the school’s faculty and students can come up with an idea half as original as this year’s, it is sure to not disappoint.