Two one-act plays will be performed on February 28 at 7:00 in the Bjorn Auditorium on Mt. Blue Campus. “Rings, Murders, and Betrayals” written and directed by senior Ashe Hartman and “The Misadventures of Stuart and Sibble as Told by a Totally Unnecessary and Overindulgent Narrator” written and directed by seniors Liam Dorr and Bella Sexton-Burchfield will both vie for a spot at the Regional Maine Drama Festival in March. The audience will determine, with their votes, which play will move on to the festival.
Each spring, Mt. Blue produces a student-written one-act play for the Regional Maine Drama Festival–a weekend-long festival of short plays performed by area high school students. At the festival, the plays are critiqued by three theatre professionals, and a winner is chosen to continue on to the next level of competition. For the last 20 years, Mt. Blue has entered a student-written and directed show. This year two sets of theatrical students had wanted to write a play so Deborah Muise, theatre director, suggested they both write one, and we’d have a “Play Off” to determine which show goes on to the Maine Drama Festival.
“Rings, Murders, and Betrayals” by Ashe Hartman is a melodrama set in the 1980s complete with a missing wedding ring, exaggerated characters, and an over-the-top fight scene. The show stars Rowan Shanti, Riley Platt, Emily Ross, Star Brougham, and Maggie Harrison. “Misadventures” by Liam Dorr and Bella Sexton-Burchfield is a comedy in the style of the “Goes Wrong” shows. There is a play within the play, an excessive director, an unenthusiastic narrator, and a star-crossed love story. It features Avery Jessen, Zach Foss, Kevin Montminy, Danny James, Emma Arnold, and Rowan Shanti, with cameo appearances by Keegan Parker, Finley Clark, Lucy Bobson, and Riley Platt. Technical help for both shows include Brandon Ryder, Megan Pinkham, Gage Delano, Kylie Hall, Aiden Dunham, Finley Clark, and Lucy Bobson.
Tickets will be by donation, and each audience member will receive a ticket that will be their ballot. At the end of the evening each person in attendance will vote for their favorite show, and the winner will continue on to the Maine Drama Festival–this year held at Skowhegan High School. Note: these shows along with a Mt. Blue Middle School production, “The Day the Internet Died,” and a faculty performance, “Clue,” will also be produced at Mt. Blue on March 14 and 15. More information on those shows will be coming soon!
