Page 64 - 1969 VESTIGE

Coleman Alderson played Major, a wise old Mrs. Diana Scholl was Molly, a eoquettish, young
hog; and
\.Yilliam Thorp as Mr. Jones, a tyrannieal farmer; apoleon, a despotic pig ruler. mare. also narrator.
Mrs. Freda Blake in the role of Clover, a questioning, motherly mare.
Mr. Cates DeHart directs the cast of "Animal Farm" in a final rehearsal of the dramatic reading; the acting was done in a newly devised theater-in-the-round.
Drama Club Begins the Year with Animal Farm
Experimenting in arena staging, the VES Drama Society presented in November a dramatic reading of Nelson Bond's adaptation of George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
Since "Animal Farm" was a modified type of dramatic reading, each actor served as a major character or narrator. Major and Napoleon, two pig rulers, were performed by Coleman Alderson; Boxer, a somewhat simple but diligent work horse, by Mackie McCleary; Molly, an unfettered, young mare, by Mrs. Diana Scholl; Clover, a simple but eloquent mare, by Mrs. Freda Blake; Squealer, an articulate young porker, by Bill Pully; and Mr. Jones, a misguided farmer, by William Thorp.
The presentation of the dramatic reading on the smallest stage in the school's history was the latest development in a two-year digression from the
conventional proscenium arrangement, stage and audience facing each other on each side. Instead, Director Gates DeHart employed a modified arena with the staging exposed on three sides. The stage and set were designed largely by Stage Manager Richard Ward.
The closeness of the audience to the actors in "Animal Farm" produced an intimacy which gave the actors the conditions for conveying subtle and poignant communication.
DeHart remarked of the theatre, "I feel that a play area can have a character of its own, and the Catacombs certainly has a distinct personality well suited for intimate theatre."
Richard Ward designed the theatre as a near replica of the Theatre Lobby, a small arena state in Washington, D.C.
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