Theater Arts class puts new spin on classic rock

by Rachel Kenderdine

This spring, Mr. Lynch’s Theater Arts II class is adding a new spin to the traditional musical by writing one based on the music of Queen.

“I was asked by Human Resource Center to do a performance for their annual fundraiser, and they asked what we could come up with,” said Mr. Lynch, Theater Arts II teacher. “Originally, I thought we would write a musical using old songs, and I presented to the class, and they liked it.”

The class took the idea a step further, and, says Lynch, “The next day, Olivia Underwood [a junior in the class,] came in and asked if we could do a musical based around the music of Queen.” The class ran with the idea from there.

Lynch liked the idea and thought the music of Queen would be perfect for their musical because, as he said, “It’s dramatic: the way it’s written, the over-harmony.”

“It’s going to be about high school and high school kids, about parents, and body issues, and sexuality, things that teens deal with,” he said.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Isaac Staub, a junior who is involved in the production. “Queen music is very related to high school life. Plus, who doesn’t like Queen?”

The musical, whose running title is “Under Pressure” (the title of a Queen song,) will be performed May 14th at the Human Resource Center’s annual fundraiser.

A look at PCHS Scholastic Bowl

by Andreanna Smith

If you walk by Mr. Happ’s room at lunch during the months of December through February, you may notice that the classroom is full of students answering the trivia questions that are being read by Mr. Happ. If you look closer you’ll learn those students are a part of an academic team: the PCHS Scholastic Bowl team, that is. Depending on what day you look in, you could be seeing either a majority of juniors and seniors or freshman and sophomores, but most likely a mixture of all. The students in Scholastic Bowl will tell you that they enjoy those practices at lunch.

Mr. Happ is the junior varsity Scholastic Bowl coach, and Mr. Aydt is the varsity coach. The varsity team is made up of seniors Drew Harper, Aaron Alexander, Cara Brooks, Allie Caldwell, and juniors Steven Middleton, Hannah King, Rachel Kenderdine, and Olivia Underwood. The junior varsity is made up of sophomores Tyler Bouslog, Terry Payton, Andreanna Smith, Jasmine Bennett, and freshmen Mike Wells, Sean Thomas, Devyn Chapman, Ryan Coffman, and Sarah Powers. Many students were in Scholastic Bowl in the years prior to high school. Both Ryan Coffman and Sarah Powers stated that they were in Scholastic Bowl at Crestwood.

For those students who are interested in Scholastic Bowl, freshman Sarah Powers states that she would recommend Scholastic Bowl to students who enjoy trivia questions. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Scholastic Bowl team, stop by Mr. Happ's room dring lunch Monday through Thursday with your questions.

PCHS Marching Band makes trip to Florida

by Valerie Lau

While most of us were relaxing and enjoying spending time with our families during Christmas break, our PCHS band traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete and perform at the Champs Sports Bowl.

The idea for this trip was brought up last year, and the band has been working very hard to make this trip possible by doing fundraisers and collecting money throughout the year, not to mention the long and grueling hours it took to perfect the music and learn all the moves and positions. The band practiced long hours during the summer and after school at the auxiliary.

“The trip was a lot of fun we got to do a lot of stuff,” says Katie Korte, freshman.

The band departed Christmas night at 11 p.m. from the high school and made the 14 hour trip to Orlando. The next day when they arrived, they ate dinner and went to their hotel rooms.

The next day they performed in front of 45,000 fans at the Champs Sports Bowl for the North Carolina State vs. West Virginia game. The band had won a previous competition which let them perform during the pregame show by themselves where they performed their Billy Joel songs. The rest of the week as a reward for their excellent performance the band got to go to SeaWorld and Universal Studios to relax and have fun!

“It was a great experience that not many people get to experience in a lifetime, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” says Aaron Garver.

The band returned home New Year’s Day exhausted but full of great memories!