The cast of “Catholic High ‘Til I Die.” (Back row, left to right) Hadley Corley, Molly Reed, Riley Krampe, Johnathan Ford, Maria Pfeifer, Carol Staples, Alex Gehring, Annie Sullivan and Abbey Kyle. (Front row, left to right) Isabella Bennett, Katherine Caudill, Megan Goodwin, Brett Conder, Shelby Pagan, Natalie Haley, Vivian Terry, and teacher/sponsor Katie Pagan. COURTESY OF OWENSBORO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Katie Pagan has heard many people complain about teenagers – that they “don’t want to work or that they feel entitled” – but her 16 theatre students at Owensboro Catholic High School proved them wrong by writing and working together on their Spring 2021 play.

(Left to right) Hadley Corley, Alex Gehring, Molly Reed and Carol Staples (holding the Snoopy head) portrayed the four main characters in “Catholic High Til I Die,” Owensboro Catholic High School’s spring 2021 play. COURTESY OF OWENSBORO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

The hour-long performance, “Catholic High ‘Til I Die” was named after a saying on several OCHS shirts, and took place April 16, 17 and 18, 2021.

Pagan, an English teacher and the theatre sponsor at OCHS, said the premise behind that is “we will always bleed green, we will always root for Catholic High ‘until we die.’ It encompasses everything that Catholic stands for – faith, family, friends.”

“This group of 16 came together to create this concept,” Pagan told The Western Kentucky Catholic. “Yes, it is hard to have 16 opinions, but they were always respectful and willing to listen to another’s ideas.”

The theatre students did not originally intend to write a play; in fact, this is the first time Pagan or any of the teens have ever written one.

But after having to pay royalties on previous performances that never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic – in both Spring 2020 and Fall 2021 – they decided to pursue the idea of writing their own, uniquely “Catholic High” play.

The play is crafted around stories gleaned from multiple OCHS alumni, whom they interviewed.

“They have always heard rumors or (ghost) stories about various events and people and this allowed them the opportunity to actually research and find the truth,” said Pagan.

Katie Pagan is an English teacher and theatre sponsor at Owensboro Catholic High School. COURTESY OF OWENSBORO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Pagan added that two of the main characters are sisters, “so the students were able to explore their own relationships with their siblings.”

“Many students who saw the play said they could totally relate to Heather’s and Lily’s characters and strife within their relationship,” said Pagan.

The storyline begins with the purchase of the future OCHS property by Bishop Francis R. Cotton from the Thomas Aquinas Medley family in 1950. The play features multiple key scenes in the school’s history, including how the school’s “Aces” nickname came to be (via a poker game); the year all the lights blew out and the doors slammed shut during a Good Friday service; and the heart attack and death of local personality and “Aces #1 fan” Jimmy Rogers during a school lunch, which caused many students to go and pray in the chapel.

The theatre class told the WKC that they wore masks during rehearsals and made sure that seating was restricted when they had an audience for actual performances.

“Though, even with masks and distancing, I didn’t feel like that took away from the experience at all,” said Abbey Kyle, a junior, who added that she had expected to have “awful stage fright” but learned she is “very comfortable up there and absolutely love being on stage. Working and acting with the people I’ve grown closer to makes the whole thing even better!”

Annie Sullivan, another junior, explained that since she is a student and also works with young children at an after-school job, “wearing a mask for 12 hours is kinda normal for me.”

“However, wearing a mask didn’t affect the performances, it more affected the writing,” said Sullivan, explaining that “we had to be more blunt in our writing so our audience wouldn’t be confused” when they couldn’t see facial expressions.

In a poignant scene in “Catholic High ‘Til I Die,” student actors pray the rosary during the chapel scene after real-life figure Jimmy Rogers died of a heart attack at school during lunch in 1993. COURTESY OF OWENSBORO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Alexis Gehring, a senior, would love to perform in more plays in the future, “but I never really got the chance to partake in it before this year.”

“If the opportunity presents itself in college I would happily take to the stage again,” said Gehring.

Sophomore Maria Pfeifer admitted that the writing process was “stressful,” but it was “a great experience to learn about plot and the process of telling a story. I loved the reactions of the crowd and it was amazing to be able to provide something for the OCHS community.”

And senior Vivian Terry said that while she doesn’t know if she will ever perform again as an actor, she loves writing “and I would love to continue to write and tell my own stories in the future.”

“I never thought I would like to write a play; they seemed like too much work – dialogue, staging, character, backstory, etc.,” she said. But, “I think the group I worked with really helped, because we were all so encouraging of what we wrote and gave each other ideas and tips. I would love to have another opportunity like this one day.”

The students involved with the production included: Isabella Caronda-Bennett, senior; Katherine Caudill, senior; Brett Conder, junior; Hadley Corley, sophomore; Johnathan Ford, sophomore; Alexis Gehring, senior; Megan Goodwin, senior; Riley Krampe, junior; Abbey Kyle, junior; Maria Pfeifer, sophomore; Molly Reed, senior; Carol Staples, junior; Annie Sullivan, junior; JiAirius Webb, junior; Natalie Haley, senior; and Vivan Terry, senior.

Digital copies of “Catholic High ‘Til I Die” are available for $5 each. Contact Katie Pagan at [email protected] for more information.