 |   | Woodberry's "Tr'actors" Take the Stage
5/16/2012
Tonight's opening of The Outsiders, a dramatic adaptation of the classic S.E. Hinton novel, in Woodberry Forest's Walker Fine Arts Center will showcase the talents of several students usually associated more with running the track than striding the boards. Chief among them is Eric Ways '14 of Durham, North Carolina -- while rehearsing for his lead role as Ponyboy, Eric has repeatedly broken school track and field records.
Most recently, Eric's 4 x 400 relay, which he ran with Jonathan Yellets '12, Roman Pivovarnik '12 and Michael Kelley '12, at the Virginia Prep League Championship Meet set a new school mark with a time of 3:24.6. And Eric's time of 49.45 in the 400m beat his own school record and set a new prep league meet record.
But there are seven other guys and one coach who've divided their time this spring between the drama department and the track and field team. Organizing the boys' time fell to coaches Curtis Phillips and Matt Boesen -- who also has a role in the show -- along with director Brent Cirves and stage manager Ray Smith. "The whole cast has been good-natured and unselfish with their time," according to Brent Cirves, who took advantage of the athleticism of his cast by choreographing several strenuous fight sequences. The performance schedule was even altered so the boys can participate in the State Meet this weekend.
The show runs Wednesday through Friday, May 16-18, 2012, at 8:00 pm in the Bowman Gray Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.
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 | St. Andrew's Chapel's One-Hundredth Anniversary Celebrated
5/15/2012
In two special services on May 11 and 13, 2012, Woodberry Forest School observed the one-hundredth anniversary of St. Andrew's Chapel. With music from guest organist Joseph Ciskanik '09 and student musicians and choristers, the entire community remembered the construction of the chapel in 1912 under the leadership of then chaplain Rev. Karl Block. The May 11 event welcomed the Board of Trustees, members of the Walker family who founded Woodberry Forest School in 1889, and other special guests for worship and a celebratory dinner.
The building was originally funded through the efforts of Woodberry's first student organization, the Missionary Society, which hosted fundraising events and enlisted donors. Since its original construction, the chapel has been expanded twice to accommodate the increasing size of the school. Chaplain David Smith estimates that over its history, 7,000 boys have sat in the pews.
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