Twin Lakes Secondary School Turns 50
By John Swartz
Twin Lakes Secondary School has been a fixture in the life of Orillia since 1972, and this weekend former students and staff celebrate it’s 50th anniversary.
One of the highlights is the annual student theatrical production, which takes place Thursday and Friday evenings at the school.
Thunder Years involves 18 students in an ensemble cast, and additional 5 for a choir, 15 backstage crew members, the production band of 4 and the 15-member jazz band.
Rather than present a specific play, the company chose to present a revue of plays previously produced during the last 50 years.
“Not every single show Twin has been done, that would have taken us a long time. We went through the yearbook and picked all the shows that were documented. It is possible we missed one or two, and we picked songs we thought would be doable for our students and great crowd pleasures. It’s not a chronological order, an artistic order I guess,” said Sally Holdsworth, who is directing and teaches drama at Twin.
“It’s kind of a greatest hits. It runs just over an hour.”
Of course Suds Sutherland and Dave Austin wrote many of the school’s annual productions.
“Our jazz band is performing a medley of those songs,” Sutherland and Austin wrote, Holdsworth said.
Without a story, a narrator was created to inject bits of historical significance in to the production.
The cafetorium holds 400 people and Holdsworth believes there is plenty of room for people making a late decision to attend. Tickets are $10 and you can get them at the door, but Holdsworth suggested anyone wanting to go Friday should stop by the school and get tickets at the office beforehand.
Everyone is welcome to attend and showtime is 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, graduates and former teachers have been travelling to Orillia from out of town to attend other events related to the 50th anniversary.
A Meet and Greet event at Hawk Ridge Golf Club has been sold out for some time, but there also is a daytime open house at the school Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. anyone can go to.
“It’s called Stay and Play, the music room is open, students can come in and there will be a one hour session for concert band music, a one hour session with jazz band music. Instruments are available or they can bring their own instruments.. There are things going on in the gym volleyball games, basketball, flag football out on the field,” said Ruth Watt, a former teacher and member of the organizing committee.
The official opening ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. and there is no charge to attend.
(Images Supplied) Main: School students rehearse the annual theatrical production, Thunder Years.
