Student’s throw their backpacks to the ground and run to the mass. Music and laughter fill the empty crooks and crevices of Sage Creek High School. Teachers and staff flock to the stairs to watch from above. Your phone buzzes: It’s a boy.

Lucas Stapleton, to be exact.

Standing at a mere 5 feet 4 inches, the freshman boy stands in the dead center of the quad now turned dance floor. He’s different; pink suspenders, blue tinted glasses and a once in a generation personality. However, the student body wasn’t quick to realize these unique traits that would soon become so prized as the weeks passed. As the originator of the Friday dances, Stapleton became the ultimate talk on campus. His bold moves spread like wildfire, and Sage Creek was in no rush to tend to his flames.    

“The reason I wanted to start dancing was because I wanted to get others to dance,” Stapleton said.

Lucas noticed that right from the start of the school year, few to none engaged with the music ASB played every Friday afternoon during lunch. In his eyes, this was a problem. With a rich, deeply rooted background in theatre, Stapleton had no problem taking a step into the limelight. Which is exactly what he came to do.  

“I feel like we’re not freshmen, sophomores or juniors when we’re dancing…we’re just dancing,” Stapleton stated.

Being on the stigmatized ‘bottom of the high school food chain,’ Lucas denounced such “freshie” labels put on him and his class by taking the bold step into unifying all classes— all through dancing. Lucas realizes that the spirit of dancing knows no face— and is an effort welcome to all.

Through these circles, the bridge between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen could finally be mended once and for all. All it takes is community— and a few dance moves.

When asking Lucas on the origins of his outspoken character, he confessed that he “…came out of the womb being a theatre kid.”  At that token, it’s no wonder why Lucas was the chosen one to commence those weekly dance circles. With a mother who has taught theater for over 25 years and a father who works in the music industry, Stapleton has been grown into the bright, abundant young man he is through his artistic, passionate parents who further aide into his eclectic persona.

Now playing the part of Monsieur Thenardier in Sage Creek Drama’s upcoming play, “Les Miserables,” Lucas represents an essential part to the success of the play.

“Lucas brings great energy to the [stage]… he loves drama and he motivates others to share in his passion,” Theater teacher Jillian Porter-Eshelman stated.

With the passionate energy Monsieur Thenardier brings to the stage, it seems like he and Stapleton are the perfect match. The zeal, the fire and the ardor the two bring; one naturally and one through the script, is quite the sight to see. And this February in the Performing Arts Center, Sage Creek will take the pleasure of watching him act it out.

As such a well rounded individual and just being a freshman, it seems like Lucas Stapleton is here to stay.

“If you’re just having a bad day he just cheers you up no matter what, everybody loves him,” freshman class President Faith Klein said.

Whether he’s on the stage, dancing or in the classroom, Lucas truly embodies the spirit Sage Creek strives to achieve. Though the dance circles are now a memory of first trimester, Stapleton’s enthusiasm continues to ring throughout the halls and find it’s ways into our hearts with a lasting message: dance your heart out, even if everyone is watching.