1983 Miracle Yearbook

SENIOR SPEECH RECITAL The Elizabethan era of "pageantry and splendor" came to life on the Al- ford stage May 13 as Jill Southward performed "Mary Stuart," a historical drama by Friedrich von Schiller as her senior speech recital. Reliving von Schiller's account of the last three days in the life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Miss Southward portrayed a stag- gering cast of 11 which included those in- volved in the imprisonment and execution of the young Catholic queen in the 15CO's. While tackling the obviously strenuous task of being an entire cast, Miss Southward mastered the difficult task of a sensitive por- trayal of the two queens,Elizabeth and Mary — two very strong women in determined opposition. The play, written in 1800, focused upon the final events leading to Queen Elizabeth's decision to sign the death warrant of Queen Mary, her cousin, whom she believed to have plotted against her life in a quest for the Protestant throne of England. In tense interplays of clashing wills, false accusations, and fiery confrontations, the conflict ended abruptly when Mary was ex- ecuted and Elizabeth realized her mistake. Planning to teach high school English, Speech and Drama in Panama City, Florida this fall, Miss Southward,a Speech and Eng- lish major, leaves behind her a legacy of drama, beginning with the top honors her freshman year in the Alpha Chi talent night with an original short story. She built her tradition with a role in "The Sound of Music" and spotlighted her sophomore year with the lead role of Dolly Levi in "The Matchmaker." She spiced her junior year with roles in minor productions as well as the winter quar- ter readers' theatre. She was also on the for- ensics team, placing second in the district with a dramatic duo, first in districts with poetry, and making semi-finalist rankings in national competition with Tennyson's "Guinevere." She finished her senior year with cuttings from "The Matchmaker" and a C.S. Lewis work for the graduation program. As well as being active in drama, Miss Southward branched out into Pi Delta,Chris- tian Service, and the Brazil team. She was also chosen her senior year to represent her class on the Homecoming court. Miss Southward culminated her college career by being awarded the Rietveld Fine Arts Award for achieving excellence in her field and being inducted into Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. 287