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Steve Hibbard

Stories by Steve

The Arlington Players Presents ‘A Chorus Line’

Talented cast of 24 actors reveal their souls through song and dance.

Under the direction of Susan Devine, 56, of Fairfax, The Arlington Players is staging the iconic dance-musical “A Chorus Line,” through Oct. 12 at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center off Glebe Road in Arlington. The complex show features a cast of 24 actors, singers and dancers on a bare stage with only a wall-length mirror during their audition for a musical. The director Zach, played by formidable real-life director and actor Blakeman Brophy, moves freely through the audience, while running the auditions and putting actors through their paces. As the play progresses, Zach gets them to reveal their souls through song (“What I Did for Love,” and “I Can Do That”) and dance. Devine wanted to convey the feeling of Zach directing from an empty auditorium — even though he was moving around the audience. She said, “I wanted to make this feel like this was as real an audition as possible.”

Senior Volunteers Stay Active

Fifty percent of Mount Vernon RECenter’s volunteers are senior citizens.

The Mount Vernon RECenter is known for its ice skating rink, massive indoor swimming pool and fitness center with spa and sauna. It has 46 volunteers who help greet guests, clean up the fitness room, landscape the grounds and assist people with adapted swimming and ice-skating. Exactly half of them are retired senior citizens over 50 who want to stay active while giving back to the community.

Redding Named Principal of Barrett Elementary

Using a family-focused style, he will lead an ethnically diverse school.

Dan Redding, 42, was named the new principal on July 1 of Barrett Elementary, one of the most diverse schools in North Arlington, originally built in 1939.

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Colette Bounet Named Principal of Barcroft Elementary

Her diverse background and style bring comparisons to Barack Obama.

Colette Bounet, 42, often receives comparisons to Barack Obama, as the daughter of a white mother from France and a black father from the U.S. Virgin Islands. A single woman, she runs 10-milers, speaks fluent Spanish, French and a local Moroccan dialect, and is a frequent flyer around the world.

Smith Named Principal of Drew Model School

Jacqueline Smith leads melting pot of school in Montessori training.

The students know her for her engaging smile. And after serving as interim principal for more than a year, Jacqueline Smith, 53, is the new principal of Drew Model School, a Montessori school in South Arlington. It helps that the Arlington View resident speaks fluent Spanish and French. She also has two master’s degrees in curriculum and instruction, and education leadership, with a focus on multicultural bilingual education – a necessity for leading the melting pot that is Drew.

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