VHSL Production ‘No Home but Ropes and Stakes’
Photos by Gina Proulx
November 10, 2022
VHSL Updates
This fall, I had the opportunity to direct a show I had written the previous year. On November 3rd, we competed in the VHSL Jefferson District Competition. We placed first, and on November 12th we advance to the next level, we will perform at Turner Ashby High School, against seven other schools from around the state. The show that places first on Saturday will advance to states.
A Note From the Director
As a student in a large public high school, I am not new to the idea that achievement and growth are often intertwined with competition. However, I also find a lot of problems with this train of thought, I wish there were more experiences that emphasized the importance of the process, and not just the finishing score. The Virginia High School League, is the organization through which Virginia schools compete against each other, it’s most commonly associated with sports, but it also facilitates interscholastic competitions for academic and artistic extracurricular’s. I often think theater is too subjective to be judged, yet I find the opportunity to perform once more, and for our cast and crew to see 7 other high schools put on amazing shows, to be an incredibly valuable experience.
For me, art has always been a way to see the world through a fresh pair of eyes. Our pain becomes the fuel which leads us to creation; and in that creation we make something we hope allows others to see through new eyes too. This project has been enormous, and draining, and chaotic at points, but I’ve never done something so incredibly rewarding. I am so proud of these kids, it isn’t easy to stay until 8 p.m. every day rehearsing a show; not to mention the incessant pressure of school, adolescent social life, and home life. It’s easy to get swept up in the monotonous flow of things, occupying your time with obligations and requirements, but to sacrifice so much time towards the pursuit of creation? That is the road less traveled, and I will never fully be able to express the gratitude I have for my cast’s trust in me, even in moments of utter pandemonium, and to everyone in the community who contributed to the production, in big ways or small.
