Springfest
On March 15, Springfest took place at Hobart High School. Springfest is a fundraiser for the Early Learning Center’s Building Brickies program in Hobart. The program provides countless services to children in the community, from birth through kindergarten, helping to set the foundation for lifelong healthy learning. Many clubs and sports around the school donate their time and efforts for Springfest. The community enjoyed a night of entertainment with bounce houses, performances, magic shows, games, prizes, and face painting. The theater department performed “Dancing through the Decades,” starting with dances from the 1920s through the most current decade. The singing group, Wolfgang performed their favorite songs directly before the dance - always a fan favorite for crowds young and old.
At the face painting booths, volunteers loved seeing the smiles on children's faces after they got their temporary tattoos. The annual Mario Kart Tournament was everyone's favorite. Dean of Students, Mr. Whitman, also took place. For the last couple of years Mr. Whitman has only been beaten a few times. This was a fun night full of memories for the whole family to enjoy.
What Happened?
The Crucible
Last weekend the Hobart High School Theatre Department presented The Crucible, a play on which they have worked very hard for the past three months. The Crucible is about the Salem Witch Trials and how paranoia and fear can turn a town upside down. Abigail Williams and a few other girls get caught dancing and drinking potions in the woods, and to avoid getting in trouble, they accuse other women of being witches. The so-called witches end up dying because of it, and the plot thickens when Abigail has a personal motive for accusing one woman in particular of being a witch.
Casting and rehearsals for The Crucible began during winter break. Originally The Crucible was set during the Salem Witch Trials but the play was actually written in the 1950s as an allegory toward McCarthisim, so the directors decided to set it in an out-of-the-ordinary era. Everything from the costumes to the sets were changed to represent the 1950s. Of course the script could not be changed but it was still easy to follow.
Crucible actors said the shows last weekend went well. There were very few mistakes and the ones that did happen on stage were not very noticable. Although a member of the cast was sick for the closing show, he managed to hold it together while he was on stage. Everyone is very proud of how the show turned out and can’t wait for the musical next fall. They would like to thank everyone for coming to see the play and hope that everyone enjoyed it.
Star Student Billie Fulton
Billie Fulton is a junior at Hobart High School who auditioned for The Crucible simply because she loves theater. Fulton did not think she was going to get the role of Abigail Williams when she auditioned and was even prepared for an ensemble role, but once she heard the news she was ecstatic, especially because this was her first main character role and mainstage performance. Fulton feels connected to her character and was thrilled when she heard The Crucible was the production. Fulton has been watching her friends succeed on stage from the sidelines for years, and they encouraged her to audition for this show.
Fulton agreed with decision to set the show in the 1950s. It helped bring the show to life and allowed more freedom for actors to make it the best show possible. Fulton was excited to shine a new light on the show was because she was also in the costume department. Costumes were the first thing that she did for the theatre department, and she has loved having input on every costume since. Besides theatre she mainly spends time with her good friends playing games and having fun. She is also in the club Natural Helpers and hopes to be apart of it for years to come.
Fulton plans to become a teacher in the future and even has aspirations to teach outside of the country. She would love to act, but teaching is her true passion in life. Fulton isn’t sure where she is going to go for college, but wherever it is she knows she will enjoy herself. Fulton encourages everyone to refrain from being upset about the roles they get, and instead focus on the fact that they will get the best out of life if they work hard and hit their goals.
Star Teacher
Mr. Whitman
One of the High Schools newests adults is Mr. Whitman. Mr. Whitman transferred from the Middle School to the High School a few months ago to become the Dean of Students, and he loves every second of working here. Mr. Whitman has always wanted to help the students throughout their school careers and lives in general, and believes this new job is a great opportunity to use what he learned from teaching and apply it to more scenarios. Year after year Mr. Whitman always puts on a Mario Kart tournament at the Springfest fundraiser for the Early Learning Center. He is very rarely ever beaten during the tournament, which features his favorite video game of all time. If he is beaten, the winner gets a prize. This year instead of doing Mario Kart he decided to have a Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament. This is the newest video game of the franchize and is currently the fan favorite. For just a $3 entry fee students had the chance beat Mr. Whitman. Win or lose, it is always a wonderful chance for students to make some fun memorizes with a former teacher or their current Dean of Students.