Germantown High School's nationally and internationally recognized television students and teachers will once again participate in an exchange program with their partner school, Wilhelm-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium. This is the second exchange between the two institutions. Wilhelm-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium has 600 pupils and 45 faculty members. The school is located in the town of Ludwigshafen (on the Rhine) in the federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. The town is the home of the global chemical company, BASF.
In June of 2007, the Germantown television students and teachers will fly to Germany to begin the exchange. Once in Germany, the American students will live with German host students from Wilhelm-von-Humboldt. The exchange will focus on theatre and television. Several theatre workshops are planned that will lead to an improvisational performance. Some work will also be done in Wilhelm-von-Humboldt’s own television studio.
Because 2007 marks the 400th year anniversary of the city of Mannheim (directly across the river from Ludwigshafen), a special film and theatre component will be devoted to capturing this special occasion. Students from both schools will perform historical re-enactments in and around the State Museum of Technology and Labor in Mannheim. Much of the work will be incorporated into a video program to be created by the two schools by the end of the exchange.
Besides the different theatre and TV projects, Germantown students will have the opportunity to see Ludwigshafen and the surrounding area. Plans for the group include a tour of the world’s largest chemical company BASF, a trip to the famous Worms cathedral, a walk through Rüdesheim, a voyage down the Rhine river, and a trip to the city of Heidelberg. There will also be a reception held at the Ludwighafen city hall for the Germantown exchange students hosted by Mayor Eva Lohse.
In September, the twenty-five students and faculty from Wilhelm-von-Humboldt will travel to Germantown and live with their Germantown partner host. The students will complete a video production as well as take part in various theatre classes, culminating in a public performance. Sightseeing trips will include a trip to Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Pink Palace, along with a walk down Beale Street and a boat ride on the Mississippi River. Students will also receive recognition from the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
Besides the obvious student to student contact and the joint television productions and theatre activities, the overriding goal of the project is to help promote tolerance, understanding, and friendship through media and the arts. Both schools and their teachers view this exchange as an opportunity to break down barriers and to foster a new level of awareness between the individuals involved.
Dr. Lonnie Harris, principal of Germantown High School and GHS-TV Supervising faculty Allison Rogers, Courtney Smith, Jordan Liles, and John Elmer will lead the group. Funding and support for the project is being provided by the Germantown Fine Arts Foundation, Poplar Pike Arts Guild, Germantown Arts Alliance, Germantown High School, Germantown High School Department of Fine Arts, Germantown Sister City Foundation and private donations.
The two schools and students both share many similar characteristics. Background information on the television programs of each school is as follows:
Wilhelm-von-Humboldt's television studio was founded in the early eighties by Karl-Ludwig Kemen, who played a pioneering role in the establishment of media projects both at the school and throughout the region. The school studio produces an hour-long magazine called "Humboldt-TV" which is broadcast by a local station, the "Offener Kanal" (Open Channel). This magazine show is solely produced by the students themselves, from presentation to directing to camera work and sound mastering. "Humboldt-TV" reports on important events around the school by means of discussions, interviews, videotapes and news. Special event programming and mobile productions are also part of the station's mission. Wilhelm-von-Humboldt is one of the few schools in all of Germany that offers instruction in television production and perhaps the only high school throughout the entire country that has its own dedicated studio facility built within the school.
GHS-TV was also founded in the early 1980's and cablecasts 750 hours a month over its’ own channel. The station serves as the community television outlet for the entire city of Germantown. The studio is completely student-centered and produces a variety of programming year round. A daily morning news show entitled Wake-Up Germantown features community and school news as well as sports and weather. Other shows include a weekly talk show Crosstalk, hosted by a student interviewer and Cable Quiz, a weekly student academic contest. The station also produces monthly shows on a variety of topics that feature adult community hosts. Additionally, students produce segments for the local PBS and NBC affiliates and help create promotional packages and informational videos for the school system. Finally, the students cablecast live weekly Board of Mayor and Alderman meetings from City Hall.
Germantown High School’s theatre, the Poplar Pike Playhouse, was opened in 1976 and has been critically acclaimed ever since. The Playhouse presents a full season of theatrical productions in its three hundred-seat on-campus theatre facility. The yearly roster of events includes two main stage shows, several acting festivals, a touring children's theatre company, and additional small ensemble presentations including a weekend of original works. Students not only perform on the stage, but they also are responsible for every element of the theatre operation, including the technical as well as the business side of the program. The theatre has state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment, a costume inventory with over 5,000 original creations, and a box office staffed year round by student volunteers. The Playhouse has presented over 70 full-length productions in its thirty-year history.
Graduates of the GHS Theatre and Communication Arts program include Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live star); Broadway actor Wes Day (Blue Man Group); film actress Missi Pyle (The Wedding Bells, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), film documentarian David Bryant (TBS), NBC Today Show producer Mollie Parnell; Emmy award-winning casting director Scott Genkinger (Desperate Housewives); national radio correspondent and All Things Considered host Debbie Elliot (NPR); and Hollywood producer Martin Cutler (Eight Days A Week).
