Theatre students at Owensboro Catholic High School recently wrote and performed their own play about the history of OCHS — including some ghosts stories — after interviewing dozens of alumni from across the last several decades.
Katie Pagan, OCHS theatre teacher and Emerald Productions Sponsor, said the class doesn’t usually write their own play, but the unique circumstances of the pandemic gave them the opportunity to do so.
“I have no experience writing a play, so this was a first for all of us,” Pagan said. “We wrote this one because we weren’t totally sure we would be able to perform in the first place. We were concerned with having to pay royalties on a show that might not happen since that happened twice (Spring 2020, Fall 2021). We also had the flexibility of changing the script as we needed.”
Pagan said the students became interested in the stories of OCHS and unpacking the history. As they interviewed various alumni from across the decades, they started seeing commonalities and met some really interesting personalities.
“My goal with the class is to always allow the students to have ownership of the play,” Pagan said. “If they feel like they had a say, then they are more likely to give 110%.”
Maria Pfiefer, a sophomore at OCHS, was a driving force behind the writing. She helped come up with the idea to tell the stories of the history and the myths of Catholic High.
“As we went along and it got harder to write, we realized we had to continue with it because it became bigger than ourselves,” she said. “My mom told me that this was something that she and her classmates would have thought of but never followed through with. The fact that we were able to write it and put it to the stage is pretty amazing.”
Molly Reed, a senior at OCHS, said it was special to not only write the play, but simply be able to perform.
“We wanted to write this one so that we could do a play that was personal and catered to our theatre class,” she said. “I’m very thankful to be able to have a play my last year in high school. I was worried I wouldn’t get closure or a senior production.”
Pfiefer agreed, saying it was meaningful to be able to take the stage again.
“During times of tragedy, like the pandemic, people go to what is familiar and comfortable,” she said. “To be able to provide the OCHS community with something familiar and comfortable is very beautiful.”
Pagan said as they started to rehearse for the play, random things started to happen — at least according to the students.
“Random items would go missing in the Green Room, there was a knocking on the Green Room door that goes to the stage,” Pagan said. “The OCHS student body has always joked that the school is haunted, so the students decided we had a ghost in the Green Room. The ghost stories became the backbone of their script, then turned into just stories of OCHS, which then turned into the final product.”
The students decided to stick with an event each decade, for the most part.
“We start with the founding of OCHS when Bishop Cotton bought the land from the Thomas Aquinas Medley family in June of 1950 for $40,000,” Pagan said. “We learned that the Aces nickname was actually conceived at a poker game amongst priest friends when the winning hand was four aces.”
Another featured character was Jimmy “Rog” Rogers, who attended OCHS up until the early 1990s before suffering a heart attack and dying at school during lunch.
Pagan said they also tied in religion because that is the foundation of the school.
“Several of the interviewees told of a Good Friday service during a storm and all the lights went out and the doors slammed shut because of the wind,” Pagan said. “They said it still gave them goosebumps to think about it.”
While Pagan noted several things that she and the students learned about the school history, one thing stuck out the most.
“I think the biggest takeaway was that each and every person we interviewed, regardless of age, talked about family,” she said. “How Catholic High really is a family, that you can rely on them for anything, even after you graduate. Many couples were high school sweethearts and have kids or grandkids in the system. And everyone we talked to was so supportive and encouraging and loved that high school kids were even interested in talking to them about their years at OCHS.”
Pagan added, “When a group of high school students says they want to write a play, most people would probably laugh at them. I am so thankful that they took their ideas and ran with them. … We have all learned that OCHS truly is a family centered on Christ, and we all share common experiences regardless of age.”
Alumni interviewed include: Charlie and Linda Kamuf; Judy Rector; Ray Garvin; Karen and David Jarboe; Tim Flaherty (current OCHS teacher); George Randolph (current OCHS teacher); Lisa Dotsey; John and Kathy Wright; Fr. Brad Whistle, dean of students 1983-1988; Jody and Karen (Kamuf) Head; Carl Lewis; Natalie Hayden; Amy Hartz; Jennifer Riney; Amy Silvert; Brian Rector; Steve Garvin; Christy Hayden; Erin Jones; Scott Grant; Lisa Higdon (current OCHS teacher); Katie Pagan (current OCHS teacher); Ginny Coomes (current OCHS teacher); Tiffany Harrington (current OCHS teacher).
