The Archie Williams drama department’s sandwich board has attracted community members to the program and its shows for years. Often seen on the Devonshire lawn outside of Archie Williams, drama teacher Jasper Thelin created the sandwich board to advertise the school’s drama productions to the community.  

For each new show, Thelin and the drama students collaborate to repaint the board with new designs to advertise their shows. The department performs approximately three shows a year, so the board has been transformed nearly 40 times.

“I made it myself with the supplies and hinges and plywood from Fairfax lumber at least 10 years ago,” Thelin said.

While sandwich boards aren’t the only method for promoting Archie Williams drama productions, the distinctive design and handmade quality of the Archie Williams sandwich board have captured the attention of the community.

Drama teacher Huda Al-Jamal recalls that when she was at Red Devil Records in San Rafael in search of props for the show, “Rock of Ages,” she spoke to the clerk of the store about the sandwich board.

“[The clerk] was saying that he always drives by Archie and sees that wooden signboard and that it really made him feel like our program is so participatory and hands-on, and he just loved seeing the new signs for every show,” Al-Jamal said.

With minimal signage real estate on the stretch of Sir Francis Drake Blvd., passersby can easily notice the sandwich board. This is one of the main reasons Thelin chose to create it. 

“I feel like the Devonshire performing arts area here often gets overlooked by a lot of stuff. So instead of just wishing that I had a really cool, big reader board, I decided, hey, why don’t I just get a couple pieces of plywood, and cut them in half, and put on hinges, and then I have my own,” Thelin said.

David Smith formerly taught drama classes at Archie Williams. One of the plays he directed, Names and Faces, was about the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Al-Jamal recounted a recent conversation she had with Smith over email after the play.

“He said that [at] one of the shows he did, someone came from the community with their child because they had seen the sign outside and they wanted their child to learn about the AIDS quilt,” Al-Jamal said.

Thelin’s handcrafted sandwich board at Archie Williams High School is a vibrant beacon for the drama department’s legacy. 

“People don’t even know that we have this wonderful theater tucked behind here. But that is our main message board for getting across to the outside world that we do productions here,” Al-Jamal said.