History of the
Woodstown Theatre Department
The history of Theatre at Woodstown High School goes back more than a century. It is rich in stories, experiences, and traditions that are still observed by today’s students. Efforts are underway to explore and uncover the history of the Woodstown High School Drama Club, the Junior/Senior Class Plays, and the Woodstown Music Club. In the coming years, the Curtain Call Legacy League, a sub-committee of the Curtain Call Club dedicated to preserving the high school’s arts history, will be cataloguing a comprehensive list of every play, musical, and operetta performed on the historic Woodstown High School stage. The history will be updated here, on this webpage, but until then, please enjoy this inspiring message written on the backstage wall of the high school’s theater in 1996. It was written by Dave Shipp, a 1996 Woodstown graduate, who performed in BRIGADOON (1994), MY FAIR LADY (1995), and led in the role of Huckleberry Finn in BIG RIVER (1996). He wrote this his senior year and it has served as an inspiring reminder to current and future students of the impact Woodstown’s Drama Club can have on a student’s life.
Transcription of the backstage Shipp message
To all those who may care,
After three years of being involved in these plays, I have come to some conclusions. A play at this high school is more than just a project to make money. It’s more than showing your talents and it’s more than something for a college application. These plays are the breeding grounds for individualism and character. They turn timid, average kids into confident creative people. I have learned so much about myself and made so many friends as a result of these productions.
Thank you, Mr. Kranz and every one from Brigadoon, My Fair Lady & Big River.
1996
Huck