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
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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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