Grinch stalks halls of Manti High
Daniela Vazquez
Staff writer
12-15-2016
MANTI—Theater students from Manti High School (MHS) presented the story of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” in a radio-style drama.
The community filled the seats of the MHS auditorium on Monday to witness the 1957 holiday icon of a malevolent green Who, played by Carson Lawrence, who aims to terrorize the Who’s of Whoville and destroy their Christmas spirit.
“This is a different kind of experience presented in a different kind of show,” Language Arts teacher Kory Howard said. “You’ll see, as they did in live radio shows, actors with scripts they will read from. Then they will throw them down. At the end of the show, you’ll literally see hundreds of scripts all over the floor.”
Emily Frischknecht narrated the story of how the Grinch had become so awful. The production also had commercials, just like the traditional radio dramas of the past.
Language Arts teacher Kory Howard assisted student Foley artists in sound effects production using a makeshift door for a door slamming effect, balloons, bells and an assortment of other gadgets.
The cast, which included a traditional background crowd sounds, performed all of the traditional songs that we have come to know from the classic holiday cartoon adapted from the 1955 poem called “Hoobub and the Grinch.”
The animated television feature was originally aired in 1966 after Dr. Seuss made his book debut in 1957.
Radio drama first made its appearance in the late 1920s on one-hour radio network programs. A cast spoke their parts into microphones, and producers used various objects for sound effects, just as the students at MHS did.
During the 1940s, radio drama reached its peak, then, with the advent and expansion of television, it faded into history.
Howard and his cast will perform a final production tonight at 6 p.m. in the auditorium.
