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AHS Drama presents ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
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ARLINGTON — While the Arlington High School Drama Department is no stranger to the demands of rapid-fire comedy, intricately plotted murder mysteries and elaborately staged musicals, this fall’s production will see them tackling an even weightier challenge, as they present a new version of “The Diary of Anne Frank” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 8, 9, 15 and 16 at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center. While the cast members range from relative ingenues, such as sophomores Jack Rogers and Emily Hawks as Peter and Petronella Van Daan, to experienced seniors, such as Coleman Holt and Grayson Baden as Otto and Edith Frank, all agreed with senior Grace McWatters, who plays Anne Frank, that the material demanded a more considerable commitment than even their standard levels of professionalism and attention to detail.
“The hardest thing has been to play Anne as a person, and not just as a character,” said McWatters, who’s been involved in every AHS Drama production since her freshman year, except for “White Christmas.” “We know we can’t goof around or mess this up, because we’re not playing stock characters, but real people who went through real struggles. I’m giving this my all.” “There’s obviously a lot of meaning to it,” said Holt, who plays Anne’s father and delivers a monologue after Otto learns that his wife and daughters have died in the concentration camps. “That’s a really emotional scene, and because I’ve never lost anyone close to me, it was the part that was hardest for me to connect to.” “I would go to my room and imagine having to hide from people who were breaking into my house and wanting to murder me,” said Baden, who echoed SEE DRAMA, PAGE 2
Arlington police discuss crime prevention BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 14-19 9 LEGAL NOTICES 4 OPINION 4, 6 OBITUARY 10-11 SPORTS 7 WORSHIP
Vol. 124, No. 14 Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Arlington City Council member Debora Nelson addresses attendees of the Oct. 29 crime prevention seminar on the possibility of restoring the Arlington Police Department’s Pro-Act Team.
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Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Arlington High School senior Grace McWatters, as Anne Frank, writes in her diary during a rehearsal for the AHS Drama production of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank.’
ARLINGTON — Arlington Police Officers Peter Barrett and Jason Rhodes took questions from Arlington business owners and city residents during a crime prevention seminar on Tuesday, Oct. 29, that focused largely on the linked problems of vagrancy and drug addiction in town. Both officers have patrolled the streets of Arlington for more than a decade each, and both have seen the growth of not only illegal drug use in the area, but also the local homeless population, which Rhodes estimated to be more than 100 within the Arlington city limits alone. “A big reason for that is heroin,” Rhodes said. “They’re feeding their addiction,
and with joblessness, they turn to crime. They’ll do whatever they can to get their drugs.” According to Barrett, heroin and methamphetamine use is on the rise, but drug and alcohol abuse of various kinds are a common denominator among the homeless, whom he noted already receive support ranging from state-funded food programs to community charities providing shelter and clothing. “So the question becomes, why are they still begging?” Barrett said. Rhodes pointed out that the homeless and drug addicts drain a number of resources, from the EMS and ER services they consume when they overdose, to the public safety, property values and qualSEE CRIME, PAGE 9