The dramatics program at St. Paul's High School is one of the oldest extracurricular programs offered at the school. First organized during the 1931 - 1932 academic year, the program was introduced by the early diocesan faculty. When the school was taken over by the Jesuits in 1933, the drama program continued as it promoted the core values of Jesuit teaching: to strive for excellence in performance and production; to respect others; to develop positive working relationships; to humbly encourage skills and talents; and to perform for the greater glory of God.
The creation of the program coincided with the school's move to the new buildings on Ellice Avenue in the early 1930s. The new buildings offered more room for students, allowing enrollment to increase, and extracurricular activities. Within the first two years at the Ellice location, the school expanded further with the construction of Paul Shea Hall. The hall, primarily used for the high school students, was adopted as the primary theatre space. From 1933 to 1964, the hall hosted many plays produced by the St. Paul's Dramatic Society.
Following the division of St. Paul's College in 1958 the Society was maintained as part of the high school's extracurricular activities. With the high school's subsequent move to the Grant Avenue location in 1964, the St. Paul's Dramatic Society continued with their productions at the new location. With a designated space for the theatre and a further increase in enrollment, the productions continued to expand under the leadership of Father John Murray S.J. with elaborate productions of well-known and well-regarded plays, such as Alice in Wonderland, She Stoops to Conquer and A Christmas Carol.
Within recent years, productions have become increasingly modern as directors have chosen from contemporary plays or have written the scripts themselves. Yet, the Jesuit values and the traditions established by Father Murray have continued to form the foundation of the performances and the Dramatic Society itself.
Murray spake until Matthew and Matthew speaks unto thee:
1. Arrive on time for makeup and costuming according to the schedule.
2. Enter the dressing room through the tunnel under Murray Hall.
3. Do not be seen by the general public off of the stage in either costume or makeup. Do not go out to visit your family or friends before or during the play or intermission. Once you are in the dressing room remain there until the play is over.
4. Be careful with props, costumes and the set. Report any problems so that they can be repaired.
5. The dressing room must be kept reasonably quiet. You need to be able to hear the PA system so you know when to come upstairs. Backstage ABSOLUTE SILENCE WILL BE MAINTAINED!!!!
6. During the curtain call, stay in character.
7. Onstage, do NOTHING that has not been rehearsed.
8. After the curtain call, step back behind the red curtain and stand in ABSOLUTE silence.
9. After the play, hang up your costume and remove your makeup before leaving the dressing room through the tunnel.
10. Play the play! We are ALL here to enjoy this experience.
*abridged version of the Ten Commandments of St. Paul's Drama by Mr. G. Matthew.
Directed by J. J. Hennessey
May 4th - 5th, 1937
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Scrapbooks
Directed by Fr. E. M. Brown S.J.
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Scrapbooks
Performances of A Young Man's Fancy and Monkey's Paw
Directed by Fr. D. A. Brown S.J.
April 13th - 14th, 1956
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Directed by Fr. J. Pungente S.J.
March 17th - 19th, 1966
St. Paul's High School Yearbook
Directed by Fr. J. Pungente S.J.
March 21st - 24th, 1974
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Directed by Mr. Bzdel
March 19th - 22nd, 1987
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Directed by D. Beeston
December 8th - 11th, 1992
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Directed by R. Comeault and C. Lussier
December 8th - 10th, 2006
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Directed by D. Beeston, J. Bergen and C. Dowhan
March 15th - 18th, 2018
St. Paul's Dramatic Society Digital Collection
Welcome to St. Paul's High School's tribute to Drama. This virtual exhibition was created to celebrate 87 years of Drama in 2019 and was accompanied by an onsite display in the Paul Albrechtsen Multiplex (March 2019 - June 2019).
To navigate through the virtual exhibition, either click the "Next" button at the bottom of each page or click on the topic of interest in the Drama Display Index to the left of this box. To scroll through the photo galleries on each page, click on the black arrows along the right and left sides of the gallery box.
For more information about this project or the archives, please contact St. Paul's Archive at sphsarchives@stpauls.mb.ca. To provide any information, photographs or memorabilia please contact the archive at the above email address.