Sunday, November 24, 2013

Freshman Dinner Theatre, by Ruth Powell

Fact or fiction?
Contrary to popular belief this is not a show for only freshmen but the proceeds of the dinner and dessert auction support the freshman class activities throughout their Upper School years.

Timeline:
1979 -  James Ockerman  started the dinner theatre for the Junior Class at Collegiate to raise funds for their junior/senior prom and senior trip.  The first show was “Edgar Allen Poe Trilogy,”performed in the Rounds Fine Arts Center, with the strolling Scheer Violins, a clown with balloons, and a magician.

1982 - The performance of Our Town heralded the first dessert auction. Desserts were made by parents and auctioned off and eaten during the intermission.

1984 - The name changed to the Freshman Dinner Theatre with the freshman parents taking on the responsibility for the dinner and dessert using the theme of the show to decorate.

1989 -West Side Story saw the building of a 4-foot high stage in the center of Rounds with the audience seated in arena staging for dinner and show.

!993 - The Sound of Music saw a big change with the building of the Upper School and Galichia Auditorium. The dinner was in the Commons followed by the dessert auction and the show in the auditorium.


The Freshman Dinner Theater has remained in the same format for twenty years.Quite a tradition!















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