“I have not found another high school that does anything like this, and believe me, I have tried!”  So says Eric Van Dervort, chair of PCD’s Performing Arts Department.  Van Dervort founded the Page to Stage program in 2003, when he led his first group of 14 writers through a three-week process that resulted in the creation of "Never a Story of More Woe," an original play based on "Romeo and Juliet" set in Northern Ireland.  The play was produced in the fall by the School’s theater troupe and has been followed by annual productions ranging in content from Fractured Fairy Tales to the Holocaust.

Each year the process begins with a topic and a premise (a launching pad for research), ­visits with experts, and a blank page.  Often the subject matter draws its inspiration from great works (George Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare among others).  A courtroom drama, inspired by "Inherit the Wind," applied timeless lessons to current headlines, when a teacher took on the school board for wrongful termination, defending her right to teach students about stem cell research.

The uniquely collaborative process, which takes place during three nearly breathless weeks each summer, finds success on many levels, and relies on the full attendance of all of PCD’s core values.  Commitment and participation, intellectual curiosity, diversity, respect, honesty, teamwork and hard work all play essential roles in the writers’ efforts, which receive the ultimate validation when the plays are premiered by the PCD Players each fall.