In early 2015, two particular freshmen entered high school. Little did they know that four years later, they would be ending their senior year having participated in all of BDHS’ first shows as part of the newly formed Drama Club under the guidance of director Mr. Dan Fiore and later co-sponsor Ms. Ashley Abraham.

Their last show closed on March 30th, 2019, and finished the high school theater careers of Annabel Bergeron and Zia Sampson, who will be graduating two months after this final curtain call. Seussical: A Musical was a show full of a wacky ensemble cast, including faithful and selfless Horton the Elephant (played by senior Andrew Giles), the crafty Cat in the Hat (Bergeron), and Jojo McDodd (junior Abby Gloff), the imaginative young boy who brings the worlds of Who and Nool into being.

The club is currently auctioning off set pieces that were created by science teacher Ms. Sheryl Massie and the talented members of the crew. Many of these pieces, while incredibly detailed and well done, are not transferable for use in future shows.

Each show requires a few truckloads’ worth of time, talent, and effort – from countless hours spent running lines and songs to all of the paint stains and cramped fingers from creating those awesome set pieces and props. “The painting process was pretty straightfoward… recreating the Seuss-style linework was easy!” said Massie. “The stage crew and my own kid helped paint – a lot.”

Closing night was emotional for every member of the club as sophomore Julia Woolfrey highlighted the graduating pair along with the other seniors participating in the show, along with commemorating the club’s fourth year with cast pictures for the three teachers involved. “I am extremely proud of both of them and so grateful that they took a risk becoming involved with a brand new club,” said Fiore on Bergeron and Sampson’s activity in drama throughout their years at BDHS. “Annabel has the singular distinction of being the only student to have performed in every single drama production over the past four years,” he commented, while Sampson started her career as a crew member doing costuming.

The show ran for four nights – two Friday and Saturday nights. The Seussical programs were even used as an immunity in this year’s senior Elimination. With the addition of a theatre class in the 2018-2019 school year as well (taught by Ms. Abraham), the BDHS drama club has exploded onto Nokesville’s community with the help of these talented students and staff.