Drama Club

Drama Club was consistently the most popular club at P.S.H.S. and it often appeared to even outrank the the basketball team in terms of popularity. In a school of 250-350 students, there were often upwards of 50 students involved in the Drama Club every year and they put on multiple productions throughout the school year. Changes to the B.C. Curriculum in the 1930s encouraged the introduction of clubs, and the dram club was an easy way to start that [1]. On top of that, P.S.H.S.’s new auditorium was a likely a big draw for students initially, and as the club grew, so did interest and popularity.

1936-37: In almost any school these days, besides the sports teams, one of the biggest extracurricular activities that are available is the drama or theatre club. Mr. R. Topper, who taught English and Agriculture, was the founder of the Drama club at P.S.H. and it had nearly immediate success. There were plays put on throughout the year, often one at Christmas and one near the end of the school year, as well as regular meetings to practice for these plays [2].

A photo of a newly constructed auditorium at the Philip Sheffield High School from around 1936.

1937-38: The drama club continued to boom under the guidance of Ms. Lehman. There were a great many productions put on throughout the year, and the drama club entered in many different competitions. On February the 4^th, the curtain rose for the “The Joint Owners of Spain” and “The Last Race”, these plays were presented to an adjudicator, as well as a sell out crowd. Beyond the lighted stage, the drama club was successful in another area; the radio. They presented two radio broadcasts, “Captains Courageous” and “Test Pilot” on the radio station CHWK, which was the local Chilliwack radio station. Despite the success of their radio endeavors, this was the only year in which the students were given the opportunity to do so. Although Mr. Topper took a break from leading the drama club this school year, it appears as though Ms. Lehman did a fantastic job and was able to experiment with new ideas and mediums in which to present. The students clearly adored Ms. Lehman, as they toasted her in the yearbook with the following passage:

To Miss Lehman, l’instructorie Francias,

Who leads onward the Hi Y Girls –

Whose splendid work in Drama,

Keeps her busy mind in whirls [3].

1938-39: The drama club continued to grow in popularity under the guidance of Mr. Topper. This year, Ms. Lehman, who was the French teacher, continued on the leadership committee. This year, the club was split into two sections; Mr. Topper was responsible for teaching those who wanted to study the plays, and the playwrights, whereas Ms. Lehman studied pantomime and the fundamentals of the stage. The fact that the drama club got broken into two separate classes highlights how popular it was. Beyond these two new programs, the club still participated in the Fraser Valley Drama Festival, where they won the Drama Cup Award for the intermediate class. This victory meant that they were granted the opportunity to present their play again on Production Night. It can be seen how Mr. Topper and his fellow teachers were able to transform the drama club from a traditional after school club to one of the most coveted extracurricular activities that the school had [4]. There were also special guests that would come in on a regular basis to help attract more interest and allow the students to become bettered in the art of drama and theatre. An example of this would be during the fall of 1938, when Ms. Dorothy Sommerset of the Drama Division of the U.B.C. Extension Department was invited to give a seminar and to spend activity period with the club [5]. Having an educated member of the community, who has been heavily involved in theater and production, come to P.S.H. was a great way this club to grow and expand. At the time of the meeting, the Abbotsford, Sumas, & Matsqui News notes that there were roughly 50 students who were part of the drama club, which is a solid number of students to begin with [6]. There is also mention in this article about how there are two casts rehearsing for the festival, which further cements the fact that the drama club was popular and a success. Further mention of the festival is discussed in a later article in the Abbotsford, Sumas, & Matsqui News. The school is entering two plays into a drama festival in Cloverdale; ‘Poor Madelenna’ and ‘A Night at an Inn’, with the hopes of coming away with a prize [7]. It can be seen that even in the early days of P.S.H., the drama club was booming and widely popular within the school [8].

1939-40: Drama club continued being one of the most popular clubs at the school and rivaled the sporting teams in terms of popularity. Led by Mr. Topper, the drama teacher, and Ms. Gignac, the French teacher/librarian, the club experienced high amounts of success. They presented two plays throughout the school year, “Not Quite Such a Goose” and “The Eye Wash Indians”, and they also presented these plays to the Fraser Valley Drama Festival. The lead actor, a Grade 10 student named Reed Cass, was presented the ‘ablest actor’ in his division and he is described as being “one of the brighter lights in drama” [9].

1940-41: The drama club continued to grow in popularity, and this year they divided the club into four sections; makeup and costumes, actors, directors, and properties. Unlike the previous years, there was a new supervisory teacher, Ms. Smith. She had been helping with the drama club in the previous years, so it is logical that she would take on the role of leading the club when Mr. Topper moved on. Like previous years, there was a heavy emphasis placed on actual productions, and the drama club turned out an astonishing five unique plays throughout the course of the school year. They presented some of these in the Fraser Valley High School Drama competition, in which John Budsey won the trophy for being the best junior actor for his lead performance in “A Message from Khufu”. Although he was the only prizewinner to come out of the drama club this year, there was little doubt about the growing success of the club and that they would be poised to win multiple championships in the upcoming years [10].

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