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=== Orson Welles and the Todd School for Boys === Woodstock had an important role in the creative development of [[Orson Welles]]. In 1926, in the midst of a chaotic upbringing, he enrolled at the [[Todd Seminary for Boys|Todd School for Boys]] in Woodstock at age 10. His five-year stay there was his only formal education, and the town and school made an impression on the young Welles. Years later, in 1960, when asked where he thought of as his hometown, he replied "I suppose it's Woodstock, Illinois, if it's anywhere. I went to school there for four years. If I try to think of a home, it's that."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/articles/Orson-Welles-9527363|title=Orson Welles Biography - Biography.com|access-date=October 9, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012031516/http://www.biography.com/articles/Orson-Welles-9527363|archive-date=October 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/discover/programs/c/close-up/close-up-feb-25-1960.html|title=Close Up: Orson Welles, part 1|publisher=Interview by Bernard Braden, [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], February 25, 1960 (22:58–23:12)|access-date=2014-09-26}}</ref> At Todd School, the young Welles came under the positive influence and guidance of Roger Hill, a teacher who later became the school's headmaster. Hill provided Welles with an educational environment that supported his creativity, allowing Welles to concentrate on subjects that interested him. Welles performed and staged his first theatrical experiments and productions at Todd. He also performed at the downtown Woodstock Opera House, where the stage — the site of his American debut as a professional theatre director — is now dedicated to him.<ref name="Todd Festival Anniversary">{{cite web|url=http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com/files/Events/PerformancePages/2014Welles_Festival.html|title=Orson Welles 1934 Todd Theatre Festival 80th Anniversary|publisher=Woodstock Opera House|access-date=2014-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812214426/http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com//files/Events/PerformancePages/2014Welles_Festival.html|archive-date=2014-08-12|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Dedication">{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=4677|title=Orson Welles Stage dedicated at Woodstock Opera House|date=February 10, 2013|publisher=Wellesnet|access-date=2014-09-26}}</ref> Welles returned to Woodstock periodically after leaving school. In July 1934 at the age of 19, he coordinated the Todd Theatre Festival, a six-week summer festival at the [[Woodstock Opera House]] that featured [[Hilton Edwards]] and [[Micheál MacLiammóir]] of Dublin's [[Gate Theatre]].<ref name="Tarbox">Tarbox, Todd, ''Orson Welles and Roger Hill: A Friendship in Three Acts''. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2013, {{ISBN|1-59393-260-X}}.</ref>{{Rp|165}} His short film ''[[The Hearts of Age]]'' was shot on the Todd School campus during the festival.<ref name="Library Brochure">{{cite web|url=http://www.woodstockpubliclibrary.org/sites/woodstockpubliclibrary.org/files/ToddSchoolHistoryWoodstock.pdf|title=Todd School for Boys 1848–1954, Woodstock, Illinois|publisher=Woodstock Public Library|access-date=2014-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905214834/http://www.woodstockpubliclibrary.org/sites/woodstockpubliclibrary.org/files/ToddSchoolHistoryWoodstock.pdf|archive-date=2014-09-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0506.html|title=Orson Welles is Dead at 70; Innovator of Film and Stage|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> Todd School for Boys closed in 1954. Several original buildings were purchased at auction and reused by Marian Central Catholic High School and Christian Life Services.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/09/05/activists-say-dorm-filled-with-history/|title=In Woodstock, historic dorm for boys school attended by Orson Welles faces demolition|last=Channick|first=Robert|date=5 September 2008|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=28 April 2014}}</ref> Welles' former dormitory was demolished in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wclsil.org/About/allhistory.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207025142/http://wclsil.org/About/allhistory.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 7, 2013|title=About Hearthstone Communities|publisher=Hearthstone Communities|access-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>
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