Eight high schools that took first and second places at a previous competition face off for the chance to perform at the State level.
Schools (and directors) participating were:
Cannon Falls -- Joseph Burns
Kasson-Mantorville -- Melissa Ferris
Rushford-Peterson -- Forrest Musselman
Spring Grove -- Sarah J. Holland
St. Charles -- Theodore Derby
Stewartville -- Nick Johnson
Triton -- John Schreider
Wabasha-Kellogg -- Cris Medina
Judges were:
Theresa Luther-Dolan
Pat Sween
Mike Tillmann
Plays performed:
The Swimmer by F. Xavier Hogan
The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
A Play With Words by Peter Bloedel
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zolidis
Deus Ex Machina -- original production
Everyman In The Circus of Life by Travis Tyre
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, dramatized by Kathryn Schultz Miller
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The Swimmer was an interesting theatrical piece -- part theatre of the absurd, part philosophical treatise. It was performed well, but the direction seemed to meander.
The Bald Soprano. This is a much too popular high school piece that has been done extremely well recently. Unfortunately, this was NOT done well. My kudos to the director for trying something new and for a unique theme to the production, but I felt that the acting was sub-par and the theme not carried through particularly well.
All I Really Need to Know... was a fabulous production. The direction was impeccable and the acting above par. Only one scene was slightly less than perfect as an actress was hard to hear. However, you could have heard a pin drop in the packed theatre as everyone there was leaning forward to hear what she was saying -- that's how caught up the audience was with the production.
A Play With Words was unremarkable.
The Brothers Grimm... is another play that has been done a little too much lately. This production was slightly above average, but still lacked a cohesive, group perfromance.
Deus Ex Machina was a clear audience favorite. A cast full of energy that never seemed to stop. The story was somewhat hackneyed and contrived, but it was well directed and performed.
Everyman in the Circus of Life ... oh, what to say. This play is just dull. It has nothing to do with the actors or the director...it's just full of talk with little action. Why would anyone want to perform it? A tough play for a talented cast to overcome.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was another, unremarkable play. At least one actor seemed to be completely lost on stage. I hope, for his sake, that he had just joined the cast as a replacement.
My rating:
I had this as a tie for first place between All I Need to Know... and Deus Ex Machina and I would have given the edge to All I Need to Know... Third place would have been a tie between The Swimmer and Everyman... based solely on the acting. All else gets ranked as fifth place.
Actual winners (good grief!):
1st place: The Swimmer
2nd place: The Bald Soprano
The fact that these two directors have won this competition for the past eight years has nothing to do with it, right?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
DEUS EX MACHINA -- Rushford-Peterson High School
playwright: Forrest Musselman
director: Forresst Musselman
High school students rehearse a play in this farcical comedy.
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A wonderful, high-energy production that prominently features a Coke machine.
director: Forresst Musselman
High school students rehearse a play in this farcical comedy.
#####
A wonderful, high-energy production that prominently features a Coke machine.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
SUB-SECTION 1A ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL -- Rushford-Peterson High School Theatre
Five area high schools vie for the two positions that move on to the Sectional competition.
Schools participating, and their directors, were (all southeastern Minnesota):
Spring Grove -- Sarah J. Holland
Rushford-Peterson -- Forrest Musselman
Houston -- Amalie Niethammer
Mabel-Canton -- Lindsey Harman
Fillmore Central -- Jackie Whitacre
Plays competing were:
"The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard
"Take Five" by Westley M. Pederson
"A Play With Words" by Peter Bloedel
"Deux Ex Machina" - an original production
"The Day Grandma Got Mad And Squashed the Tomatoes" by Bradley Hayward
Judges were: Kathy Keech, Mark Reisetter, David Stadum
#####
I enjoy going to see the high school one act plays. I like seeing how young talent is nurtured and given an appreciation of the arts.
In general, we are not supposed to know which school is performing, and frankly, I can't remember, though at the time, I was aware of who was performing.
The first show of the day, Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound," struggled. Stoppard's humor is not always direct, and it takes a lot of attention to the script to capture it. Stoppard is tough to produce at the high school level, and I don't think this school was up for the task.. Simple, basic acting and directing skills plagued the production. Stumbling over lines, lack of focus, not staying in character. More rehearsal time and more attention to detail would have helped, followed by a better understanding of what Stoppard was doing with his script.
"Take Five" by Westley M. Pederson is a commonly produced play in the high school one act competitions. It takes place on a stage, presumably before a rehearsal, but ultimately during a performance. Audience members come on stage and stage hands become actors. Lots of wackiness and zany opportunities. It is generally a crowd pleaser. This school has some strong actors, and generally good direction, though perhaps a lack of consistency. If the male lead actor is going act over-the-top, his 'wife' should be equally over-the-top. Instead, she came across as very real. Generally a good thing in any other circumstance. The 'audience member' character brought the production down with a very laid-back, slow style that had no enegry.
I like the general idea of "A Play With Words" by Peter Bloedel, although it really was nothing more than 30 minutes of puns and plays on words. The actors did a very good job, but the direction seemed lacking to me. Why have one character deliver every pun out to the audience? No one else acted in that style. Good choices of costumes, except...why put 'The Creeps' in bright, day-glow colors? Aren't they supposed to be 'creepy' and not fun?
"Deux Ex Machina" was a mixture of styles, poking fun at a lot of the types of plays that we generally see in the high school one acts. It centers around a school that's rehearsing a show, but their theatre has been converted to a teacher's lounge, so they have to work around the soda machine and the occasional teacher on break. Generally fun, it lacked a cohesive story, or even a cohesive idea. Is it about these students wanting to rehearse a show? Is it about product placement? Is it about a pop machine going rogue? Is it about none of these things? The cast was high energy and fully committed to their parts, which was wonderful.
Bradley Hayward is a relative newcomer in the high school theatre circuit. His "The Day Grandma Got Mad and Squashed the Tomatoes" was a new play to me, and sadly it was a bit weak. Some of the jokes didn't quite carry, or seemed forced. While the acting and directing weren't very strong, the script didn't help (unlike "Take Five" in which, the script carried the production).
If I were to judge this competition, I would have given first place to "Deux Ex Machina" with a tie for second place between ""Take Five" and "A Play With Words." I think I would have given the edge to "A Play With Words" because the students had a more consistent acting presence, even though I might have enjoyed "Take Five" more.
Actual winners were:
1st Place: "Deux Ex Machina"
2nd Place: "A Play With Words"
Schools participating, and their directors, were (all southeastern Minnesota):
Spring Grove -- Sarah J. Holland
Rushford-Peterson -- Forrest Musselman
Houston -- Amalie Niethammer
Mabel-Canton -- Lindsey Harman
Fillmore Central -- Jackie Whitacre
Plays competing were:
"The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard
"Take Five" by Westley M. Pederson
"A Play With Words" by Peter Bloedel
"Deux Ex Machina" - an original production
"The Day Grandma Got Mad And Squashed the Tomatoes" by Bradley Hayward
Judges were: Kathy Keech, Mark Reisetter, David Stadum
#####
I enjoy going to see the high school one act plays. I like seeing how young talent is nurtured and given an appreciation of the arts.
In general, we are not supposed to know which school is performing, and frankly, I can't remember, though at the time, I was aware of who was performing.
The first show of the day, Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound," struggled. Stoppard's humor is not always direct, and it takes a lot of attention to the script to capture it. Stoppard is tough to produce at the high school level, and I don't think this school was up for the task.. Simple, basic acting and directing skills plagued the production. Stumbling over lines, lack of focus, not staying in character. More rehearsal time and more attention to detail would have helped, followed by a better understanding of what Stoppard was doing with his script.
"Take Five" by Westley M. Pederson is a commonly produced play in the high school one act competitions. It takes place on a stage, presumably before a rehearsal, but ultimately during a performance. Audience members come on stage and stage hands become actors. Lots of wackiness and zany opportunities. It is generally a crowd pleaser. This school has some strong actors, and generally good direction, though perhaps a lack of consistency. If the male lead actor is going act over-the-top, his 'wife' should be equally over-the-top. Instead, she came across as very real. Generally a good thing in any other circumstance. The 'audience member' character brought the production down with a very laid-back, slow style that had no enegry.
I like the general idea of "A Play With Words" by Peter Bloedel, although it really was nothing more than 30 minutes of puns and plays on words. The actors did a very good job, but the direction seemed lacking to me. Why have one character deliver every pun out to the audience? No one else acted in that style. Good choices of costumes, except...why put 'The Creeps' in bright, day-glow colors? Aren't they supposed to be 'creepy' and not fun?
"Deux Ex Machina" was a mixture of styles, poking fun at a lot of the types of plays that we generally see in the high school one acts. It centers around a school that's rehearsing a show, but their theatre has been converted to a teacher's lounge, so they have to work around the soda machine and the occasional teacher on break. Generally fun, it lacked a cohesive story, or even a cohesive idea. Is it about these students wanting to rehearse a show? Is it about product placement? Is it about a pop machine going rogue? Is it about none of these things? The cast was high energy and fully committed to their parts, which was wonderful.
Bradley Hayward is a relative newcomer in the high school theatre circuit. His "The Day Grandma Got Mad and Squashed the Tomatoes" was a new play to me, and sadly it was a bit weak. Some of the jokes didn't quite carry, or seemed forced. While the acting and directing weren't very strong, the script didn't help (unlike "Take Five" in which, the script carried the production).
If I were to judge this competition, I would have given first place to "Deux Ex Machina" with a tie for second place between ""Take Five" and "A Play With Words." I think I would have given the edge to "A Play With Words" because the students had a more consistent acting presence, even though I might have enjoyed "Take Five" more.
Actual winners were:
1st Place: "Deux Ex Machina"
2nd Place: "A Play With Words"
Saturday, January 16, 2010
THREE RIVERS ONE ACT CONFERENCE -- Wabasha-Kellogg High School
A prelude to the Minnesota High School League competition, with schools in the Three Rivers Conference competing with one act plays.
The Swimmer -- F. Xavier Hogan, St. Charles High School
Take Five -- Westley M. Pederson, Fillmore-Central high School
The Inventor's Daughter -- Eddie Cope & Carl L. Williams, Lewiston-Altura High School
The Loathsome Lady -- Jane Jeffries & Jim Jeffries, Kingsland High School
Deux Ex Machina -- Forrest Musselman, Rushford-Peterson High School
For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls -- Christopher Durang, Southland High School
Everyman in the Circus of Life -- Travis Tyre, Wabasha-Kellogg High School
#####
A very interesting mix of plays, with the usual variations of accomplishments.
The Swimmer was an interesting play, with some touches of theatre of the absurd. it was well performed, though I felt, at times that there were too many occasions of sexual innuendo that weren't written in the script. It seemed to lack some focus.
Take Five is a commonly performed play at these high school competitions, and when done with some competency, will usually get quite a laugh. Unfortunately this production lacked some cohesion and some of the actors seemed to have difficulty understanding their characters.
The Inventor's Daughter was a new play to me, but also lacked some focus -- kids saying lines without seeming to know why.
The year of comedy, apparently ... The Loathsome Lady seemed to be a comedy of the King Arthur era. This production, unfortunately, was flat.
The new play, Deux Ex Machina, was the most polished play of the day. Well rehearsed with non-stop action and humor, this play was the hit of the day, and well deserving of being the winner.
Durang is always an interesting choice for high school as he seems a bit mature most of the time, and For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls was an interesting piece ... full of dry humor and some subtleties that the kids actually seemed to understand. Still, it was a piece strange enough to leave us wondering just what the heck it was all about.
Wabasha-Kellogg tends to do some very unusual and theatrical pieces, and Everyman in the Circus of Life was no exception. This was full of theatricality and some lofty introspection. What it didn't have was pace or energy.
These days of play competitions are long days, but I enjoy the efforts.
The Swimmer -- F. Xavier Hogan, St. Charles High School
Take Five -- Westley M. Pederson, Fillmore-Central high School
The Inventor's Daughter -- Eddie Cope & Carl L. Williams, Lewiston-Altura High School
The Loathsome Lady -- Jane Jeffries & Jim Jeffries, Kingsland High School
Deux Ex Machina -- Forrest Musselman, Rushford-Peterson High School
For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls -- Christopher Durang, Southland High School
Everyman in the Circus of Life -- Travis Tyre, Wabasha-Kellogg High School
#####
A very interesting mix of plays, with the usual variations of accomplishments.
The Swimmer was an interesting play, with some touches of theatre of the absurd. it was well performed, though I felt, at times that there were too many occasions of sexual innuendo that weren't written in the script. It seemed to lack some focus.
Take Five is a commonly performed play at these high school competitions, and when done with some competency, will usually get quite a laugh. Unfortunately this production lacked some cohesion and some of the actors seemed to have difficulty understanding their characters.
The Inventor's Daughter was a new play to me, but also lacked some focus -- kids saying lines without seeming to know why.
The year of comedy, apparently ... The Loathsome Lady seemed to be a comedy of the King Arthur era. This production, unfortunately, was flat.
The new play, Deux Ex Machina, was the most polished play of the day. Well rehearsed with non-stop action and humor, this play was the hit of the day, and well deserving of being the winner.
Durang is always an interesting choice for high school as he seems a bit mature most of the time, and For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls was an interesting piece ... full of dry humor and some subtleties that the kids actually seemed to understand. Still, it was a piece strange enough to leave us wondering just what the heck it was all about.
Wabasha-Kellogg tends to do some very unusual and theatrical pieces, and Everyman in the Circus of Life was no exception. This was full of theatricality and some lofty introspection. What it didn't have was pace or energy.
These days of play competitions are long days, but I enjoy the efforts.
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