Welcome to the
Stanwood High School Performing Arts Center
Dedicated to the Memory of Donald Good
Directions to the Performing Arts Center:
-Take Exit 212 off of I-5
-Go west on highway 532 for approx. 4.25 miles
-Turn right on to 272nd street
-School is located on the left side of the street
7400 272nd ST NW
Download the PDF map to Stanwood High School:
driving_directions_map
The Stanwood High School Performing Arts Center offers a 40 ‘ wide
proscenium stage with a flexible apron/ modified orchestra pit and a
house of approximately 525 seats. It is equipped with full theatrical
lighting and sound systems, and a modified rigging/fly system.
Useful PDFs:
guide_to_the_shs_performing_arts_center
pac_user_check_in_list_201213
The Stanwood High School Performing Arts Center is dedicated in loving memory to a true friend of the arts, Mr. Donald Good.
Mr. Donald Good was
Stanwood High School’s drama teacher for over 20 years before he retired
in the spring of 1988. He taught English and drama as well as several
years of choir. Most springs, he would recruit students from the entire
school for the spring musical. At a time when the school had less than
600 students, his shows would have a cast of over 50. He would use his
English classes to scout out potential talent and include “dramatic”
assignments to encourage students to catch the acting bug. Being an
accomplished piano player, his English and drama classes would sometimes
include a schottische or polka dance lesson.
Mr. Good loved classic Broadway musicals and produced many of
them here. “The Sound of Music”, “My Fair Lady”, “Carousel”,
“Oklahoma”, “South Pacific”, “The King and I”, “Annie Get Your Gun” and
“Babes In Arms” were some of the shows he brought alive in Stanwood.
Some years, he also directed a play in the fall including “Cheaper By
the Dozen”, “Our Miss Brooks” and “I Remember Mama”.
When Mr. Good first started doing plays, the stage was part of
the school gym. For a couple weeks prior to the May productions, the
gym would be transformed into a theater complete with two side stages
built on the floor. The lighting was minimal and the curtains were full
of holes, but his crew of friends would create lavish sets with huge
painted seascapes, landscapes or wall papered drawing rooms.
When the “new” high school was opened in 1971, there was no stage
on the campus, so Mr. Good and crew transformed the old stage in the
gym at the closed Lincoln school so that the show could go on. When the
small auditorium was opened in the early 80’s, Mr. Good thought he had
died and gone to heaven. Instead of spending his energies creating a
theater in old gyms, he was able to produce shows on a real stage with
lights that could be controlled and curtains that were not thread bare.
During his tenure at Stanwood High School, Mr. Good earned the
respect of many students. As an English teacher, he drilled grammar and
encouraged creative thinking and writing. As a drama teacher, he gave
many an outlet of expression that couldn’t be found anywhere else in the
school. His students have gone on to be educators, professional actors
and successful life long learners. Many of those students list Mr.
Good as one of the most influential people in their life.
When the new Performing Arts Center was built, a grass roots
movement by former students flooded the email with responses from all
over the world asking that it be named after Mr. Good. Although the
school board decided not to name the building after him, it was
dedicated in his honor.
Mr. Donald Good lives on in the hearts of many as an excellent
teacher who believed in his students and encouraged them to stretch
beyond their perceived limitations.