For those of you who were in the theater program at B.H.S. from 1968-1988 hopefully will remember me.  To those not, you may remember Howard Sible in the Speech, English Department.

What years they were!  We presented over 100 plays and 10 musicals.  One standout in my memory was the first production on the new stage of South Pacific.  Up until the week before opening there were NO seats in the theater and rehearsals had to be held in the cafeteria!  Other productions that very first year were Death of a Salesman, The Effect of Gamma Rays on the Man-In-the-Moon Marigolds, and The Desk Set.  What a season!

Can you believe that NEW theater is 30 years old and showing its age (not me)?  At this point you're probably thinking "Is he still alive?"  Oh yes, and I still care about you , theater and B.H.S.  All of this brings me to the fact that new seats and technical updates are needed.

New seats are partially funded through a $25,000 grant from the Scott County Regional Authority.  Each seat, available for $150 each, will be adorned with a gold plaque acknowledging the contributor.  What a great way to honor a loved one, an alumni or current graduate.  All contributions are tax deductible.
(Bettendorf High School, Attn: Jimmy Casas, 3333 18th Street, Bettendorf, IA, 52722)

No, students and productions of other years are not forgotten.  Who can forget Romeo & Juliet, Mister Roberts, Hello Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, The Little Foxes, and Of Mice and Men at the "old" high school.

Standouts in the new (then) facility that come to mind are A Midsummer's Night Dream, 1776, Tom Jones, Gods Favorite, Nicholas Nickelby, Any Number Can Die, and my "swan song" The Foreigner.  Sorry to ramble on, but these memories and so many more keep surfacing.

Probably few people truly appreciate how important the technical part of the productions are.  Again from my tenure can these technicians who made a person disappear in a cloud of smoke (The Foreigner) or sets were devised that could be quickly altered to allow for alternate productions on a revolving basis (The Curious Savage and The Odd Couple).  And how about our set for Teahouse of the August Moon that won a National Award!  How about a make-up artist that transformed a teenager to a 90-year-old woman! (Marigolds).  Then there was spectacular lighting for the finale of  1776.  Examples go on and on.

Yes - a lot of talented young students were part of the drama program - the Romeo and Juliet cast and crew boasted 10% of the entire student body!

So -  where are you - what are you doing and wouldn't you like to help assure the continuance of  outstanding drama at B.H.S. by buying a seat or two?  And - yes - I have done so!!!

Let's hear from you,

Buddha (Howard Sible)

For additional information:

Jim S. Casas, Principal - jcasas@bettendorf.k12.ia.us

Joan Lenz, Drama/ Language arts - jlenz@bettendorf.k12.ia.us