When drama students returned Aug. 9, not only did they meet new teacher Edward Cole, but they discovered a legacy was gone. The walls containing their murals had been painted over.

“I was totally heartbroken when I heard the news,” senior Lindsay Mosher said. “It felt like a piece of me was ripped out and memories were gone.”

“It was shocking to think that so much of the Drama Club’s legacy could be so callously painted over without anyone being aware,” former Drama Club assistant Lisa Latham said.

Since the 1990’s, Drama Club students had painted logos of shows they produced on the walls in the drama classroom.

“Painting a show logo was really special to me because I originally made the design and it was even better to put it up on the wall for people to remember,” sophomore Lauren Fennewald said. “I was really upset when I heard that it was painted over because I had put so much effort into it.”

In the dressing rooms, members waited for their chance to paint a brick at the end of their senior year, leaving their mark.

“It was emotional seeing alumni coming to Mueller’s last show and seeing all of their names and shows on the wall,” senior Rebekah Anthonis said. “It’s sad that none of that is there anymore for people to do that. I’m disappointed that I can’t add my name to the wall.”

“Making a brick meant that there would always be a place for me there. It was kind of like my legacy,” 2015 graduate Andrew Gibbons said.

There was even a brick made for Trevor Joerling. Before he died from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2014, Joerling was an active member of Drama Club.

“I spent so much of my time sketching and painting it to what I thought was close to perfection,” 2016 graduate Paris Lewis said. “He is still a big part of our club and the whole school even. His brick was special and a reminder of who he was/is in our club. It was only up for summer, and there wasn’t time for most to see it. I don’t think that it was fair to be taken away.”

The bond issue that built the new academic wing, gym, and fields in 2011 did not contain funding for a new auditorium, band, or choir space.

“Last spring Mr. Mueller and I took a walk around the drama area discussing things about the room that needed to be cleaned and fixed,” Wedlock said. “The floors needed to be cleaned, the ceiling tiles needed to be replaced, the walls needed to be fixed and painted, the sound equipment needed repair, and the doors were getting stickers. The goal was to freshen up the whole area. The Trevor brick issue is very complicated since we don’t have any other student murals.”

The show logos aren’t completely gone. Cole took pictures of all of the murals shows before the walls were painted and plans to display them.

“I’d like to laminate the pictures and hang them around the room like a timeline,” Cole said. “I’m also excited for a fresh start and creating new traditions. To commemorate future shows, we could have the whole cast and crew sign the show posters and hang them around the room.”

As any further renovations may change the space, Drama Club members are open to the new ideas.

“If we can put the pictures up nicely, I’m for it,” junior Mateo Flores said. “Hanging the posters would be much better since posters can be moved easily and people from the show could easily sign them.”

“Hanging the pictures is important for members of Drama Club, because it allows us to remember what we did and shows new members what we have done and gives them an idea of what we are capable of,” junior Nick Stevens said. “The posters certainly would be less time consuming while still getting the same message across.”