Countless memories can be made in the four years that compose high school. In the WS set shop, senior tech theater students have been leaving one more memory for future students to enjoy.
Anyone who walks onto the paint splattered floor of the set shop only has to raise their head to see walls covered with artwork. These are the marks that past seniors have left behind. The origin of this Spartan tradition is a mystery to WS Theater Director, Bernie DeLeo, but he has his own assumptions to why it began.
“Theater students are a tight family, and I can only imagine they wanted to leave their mark behind,” said DeLeo.
Every year underclassmen witness the tradition continue. This is the same tradition that they too will take part in one day and leave in the hands of those who come after them.
“I’ve known about the tiles, because we’ve all seen other students painting them,” said senior Graham Hogg.
As the school year draws to a close, more time opens up for the tech theatre seniors to start their painting. In addition to allowing students to leave something behind, the tradition also gives them the opportunity to unleash their creativity.
“Some create really ambitious projects and stay after school to get them done,” said DeLeo. “Some are random, some contain images or logos from the shows they’ve worked on.”
With renovations rapidly approaching, the days left to witness the walls that document the creativity of WS tech theater students has become limited. The physical signs of past students may become lost to future tech theatre pupils, but the memories will remain with the students who occupy the current building. The paintings pay tribute to the many tech theatre students who have passed through WS. Hannah Newby, a tech theater student from the class of 2015, is one of the people these paintings are paying tribute to.
“It’s interesting to see the history of the theatre department through the artwork,” said Newby.
The amount of thought or meaning behind the paintings varies just as much as the paintings themselves. Every student leaves WS with a different story, but for a short time each of their stories have intersected as they worked alongside each other. Newby’s work can be found looking down on the room of the costume shop on a ceiling tile. As a senior she drew a desert scene with an infinite road that had a special meaning behind it.
“I drew it because I have no idea where I’m going, or where I’ll end up,” said Newby.
Within the students’ costume shop is another painting with a significant meaning. It was meant to go with a painting that consumes the doorway to the set shop. Both paintings contrast each other, since one depicts hell, and the other a heaven on Earth.
“It is all flames and fire, we’ve nicknamed it the gates of hell where the costume shop you open it and its flowers and scroll works which has become the Garden of Eden,” said senior Jessie Richardson.
The paintings represent the many years that students have been choosing to take theater tech and the love that they have for it. It also represents their last days as tech theatre students.
“It is a way [to] put your mark on the history of theatre tech at West Springfield,” said Hogg.