Senior Spotlight: The missed musical opportunity
As Lynden Schools seniors saw their school year end prematurely, that included the loss of their final opportunity to participate in spring activities. This series recognizes the seniors across a variety of activities, with this post focusing on the musical.
The amount of time, dedication and pure effort put into the making of the Lynden High School musical Guys and Dollswas nearing a full culmination with a run of public performances. But that was cut short, at first postponed and then later canceled.
For those seniors who dedicated months of work to perform and entertain, they will still have the memories and time together, but lose those final moments that can often put a poignant end on the effort.
Tina Miller, LHS drama director, says the seniors once again did an amazing job, both in their roles and with helping lead the group. From leading warm up or on their own organizing events to encourage the entire group and also keep the more than 50 students on task, watching the seniors “encourage and mentor new members to our drama family and take on the most difficult role of leading by example” was a special hallmark of the group.
Several of the seniors have worked in drama since sixth grade, meaning Miller has worked with some of the seniors for up to 11 shows and many of them have also helped Miller with middle school performances. “Not only are they a great help to me as the director, but they begin forming bonds with younger students so when freshman jump into the high school program, they not only have some familiar faces, but the seniors take them under their wing and help them feel comfortable with our drama family from the very start,” she says.
For Guys and Dolls, auditions started in October and musical rehearsals began in mid-November. “The seniors, several with leading roles, put their heart and soul into this show and were always ahead of schedule as well as managing good grades,” Miller says. “This senior class is very dear to my heart as most of them are long-term students. I can’t say enough about the hard work, great leaders and amazing young men and women these seniors have become. I hope people can understand how important this is to these students to have their senior show and many of them are very disappointed.”
Below is a list of seniors who participated in the LHS musical and missed the opportunity to finish the task.
On Stage:
Dylan Phillips
Ethan Blankers
Natasha Giblin
Hannah Slagle
Hannah Clark
Alyssa Boersma
Katlyn Neff
Ethan Peterson-Scoter
Drea LaBounty
On Crew:
Alyssa (Danny) Lagerway
Ty Cowen
Jordan Oliver
Sofia Snyder
Joy Stiles
Toby Samuelson
