THE ARTS ETC
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Reviewed by Donna Bailey-Thompson
Again, the quality of the work produced by the Drama Studio is outstanding.
From the newest enrollees to the experienced students, professionalism reigns. Mix in the students’ imaginations and THE ANNUAL WINTER SHORTS FESTIVAL is prepared to strut its stuff.
Opening the Festival for the first of two weekends THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL YOU, written by Zoe Carol (age 15, DS first year), opens with an intense confrontation between daughter Aimee (Lena Iacobucci, age 13, DS first year) and Mother (Kelsi Ford, age 17, Assistant Director). Aimee’s bedroom is littered with dozens of stuffed animals that Mother says must be removed. Aimee protests.”They love me!” They offer a solace for the accidental loss of her best friend. Today is the first year anniversary of her death during which time Aimee has mourned in the isolation of her bedroom. She hisses at her Mother, “I wish you’d died and not my best friend!.” The dialog is sharp, Aimee’s flashes of bitter anger and Mother’s fear for Aimee’s mental health are windows into a disturbing reality, a well-presented package – script, actors, set design.
Directed by Dan Morbyrne of the Drama Studio staff, LIFE, LOVE, AND LEGOS by Elizabeth Burgess (playwright, age 11, starting second DS year) offers a different way to understand family idiosyncrascies. Ebony (Leah Howard, age 11, new to DS this semester) loves playing with legos but her Father (Jay Mustain, his first Drama School production) contends legos are evil. “Fun is the root of all evil!” Because Ebony is blessed by receiving a magic Oprah pillow, she is able to time travel and observe her Father when he was 10 (Ethan Lessard, age 11, DS three years) and again when he was a teenager (Will Maldonado, age 14, DS four years). What a power trip – witnessing the progression of Father’s bizarre anti-fun belief.
Time travel doesn’t happen on the cheap; three Narrators de-cipher any sci-fi discombobulation (Emma Frazier, age 13, DS 4 years; Alyssa Orzell, age 12, DS 4 years; Nehamya Nascimento, age 12, DS 4 years). Lego Time Suckers (Jack Woodbury, age 10, DS 2 years; Mary Kate Mollica, age 12, DS 2 years; Michaela Moreau, age 12, DS 2 years) keep the plot boiling. The fearless Ebony whose naturalness suggests she was born on stage proposes to Father, “Let’s build something together.”
AN ALMOST KIND OF LOVE STORY by Aiden Moriarty (playwright, age15, DS 5 years) is directed by Lucy Gouvin (age 17, DS 6 years) and stage managed by Tristan Donahue (age 16, DS 7 years). A two-character play, the Girl (Sarah Penna, age 13, DS 3 years) wishes she had a date with someone she could feel romantic about. The Boy who is hanging around (Peter Paleologopoulos, age 17, DS 5 years) is clearly eager to take her out, but any hints he tosses her way, Girl shoots down. Not until he declares his love for her and all he’d do for her, such as swim the Indian Ocean, does Girl pay attention. As the maddingly demanding Girl, Miss Penna honors the script’s unsympathetic role, not easy when playing opposite Mr. Paleologopoulos’ Boy whose light-hearted persistence a la Cary Grant and/or George Clooney or whoever is today’s current heart throb easily spins body English into Valentines.
KATIE'S CAMPAIGN by THE ACT CLASS tackles the effects of callous behavior, well-intentioned mob mentality, rumor mills, and self-analysis. Directed by Amelia Hays-Rivest of the Drama Studio staff, the cast numbers 37.
The play opens as students, mostly in small groups, arrive at their desks. Best friends Katie (Norma Perlmutter, age 13, one year) and Paige (Bridget Shelly,age 12, just started 101 class) sit together. Katie is relaxed but Paige is clearly uncomfortable, repeatedly starting to say something, hesitating, stopping. Finally, she informs Katie they are no longer friends. Further, that they never were. Paige offers no explanation. Katie is dumbfounded and profoundly hurt. Paige sits with a different group. Katie sits alone, abandoned.
As word spreads about Paige dumping Katie, classmates decide they need to become involved, to do something about the injustice. But what? How can they help Katie to feel better? Sides are drawn – those who support Paige or Katie. Nasty looks are exchanged. One girl trying to prevent her friend from straying always walks with her arm around the girl’s shoulder. (That possessiveness drove me nuts.) Ideas for cheering up Katie include muffins, a chicken, a makeover, get physically active and other transitory fixes.
So much attention focused on one girl prompts a campaign designation which raises questions that spin off into rumors (the movement is taking over the school) which attract the press which insinuates itself into the maelstrom. Meanwhile, sad, stunned Katie seemingly sleepwalks while Paige may be re-thinking. Chanting begins: USA! USA! USA! Political posters appear: Be Smarter! Just Be Cool! Just Be Nice! Nail Polish For Boys! Save The Whales! Sit With A Friend At Lunch! Oh, The Humanity!
(Here comes The Spoiler.) Paige approaches Katie and declares she wants to be friends. Katie accepts Paige back into her life. Does Katie realize she survived on her own and that Paige discovered the value of friendship? The script holds up a mirror to the constant intrigue created by society and one of its settings where it is passionately played out – among the young.
Here are the 37 creators of Katie’s Campaign.
Assistant Directors: Kelsi Ford and Sarah Etkin
Stage Manager: Sara Berliner
Assistant Stage Manager: Alex Labrie
Katie: Nora Perlmutter
Paige: Bridget Shelley
Bree: Regan Kleiner
Madison: Aubrey Daviau
Haley: Katie Hoag
EIGHT PLAYWRIGHTS
Ashley: Caroline McKinnon
Heather: Emma Fogarty
Mark: Austin Richardson
Cynthia: Chloe Connolly
Mandy: Macy Bryer-Charette
Lexi: Sierra Hays-Rivest
Alicia: Lalia Hays-Rivest
Lilly/Cupcake: Meredith Viens
Ryan: Matthew Wilson
Mia: Caitlin Hogan
Jessica: Sammi Mustain
THE PRESS
Trisha (Reporter 1): Julia DeRidder
Mike (Reporter 2): Daniel Kemple
Bert (Camera 1): Matt Walting
Gillian (Camera 2): Sophia Wong
Susan (Camera 3): Emma Walting
JOCKS
David MacArthur, Isaac MacArthur, Griffin McMahon
FASHION CREW
Rieghan O’Connor, Chloe Levine, Liz Timm
DRAMATICS
Aarin McCormic, Maggie Vatter, Daniel Kemple
PROTESTERS
Jack Woodbury, Mary Kate Mollica, Caitlin O’Rourke
THE DRAMA STUDIO
presents
Weekend Two
of
The Winter Shorts Festival
February 10 - 12, 2012
Director of Production: Dan Morbyrne
Costume Design: Greta Breglio-Redman
Set and Lighting Design: Craig Milne
A broken friendship caused primarily by misunderstanding and the fits and starts of trying to mend the rift opened the Sunday matinee performances. Playwright Victoria Montagna's LEAVING TODAY (age 17, four-year Drama Studio student, attends Minnechaug Regional High School) captured the kabuki dance of feeding into the residual pain of a ruptured friendship while trying to jump start mending hearts. Directed by Managing Director Kyle Kate Dudley, at times the path back to understanding and forgiveness was delayed due to a reluctance to leave the familiarity of a painful cocoon for a new experience where healing could move forward. Defiance: "I don't need help from anybody" and blame, "You were my only friend. You cared about me." The actors, Jess (Tiersen Willette Lopez, age 15, DS two years, attends Chicopee Comprehensive High School) and Ally (Jessie Berliner, age 16, DS five years, attends Minnechaug Regional High School) wore their hearts on their sleeves, appropriately modulated.
A lighter play, a comedy/drama Not Like the Movies by playwright Stefanie Zitka (age 15, DS five years, attends SABIS) mixes a reel of a Molly Ringwald movie with the real world: movie characters step out of the film to interact with human beings struggling without the help from a script. The concept is enlivened by almost-ethereal sound effects and on-going put-downs of Molly Ringwald, primarily criticizing the sameness of her movies, not mature enough -- yet -- to recognize the similarity of their attitudes. A lovelorn Tanya switches between goofy and pensive, raising the charm factor (Cori Stenning-Barnes, age 16, DS seven years, attends Minnechaug Regional High School). Her eclectic creation of a thousand facial and body expressions rivals the fluid nuttiness of Imogene Coco (Google Sid Caesar's Show of Shows).
Stage Manager (Rachel Gallagher, age 15, 6 years at DS. attends Chicopee High school). Heather (Maeve Gaus, age 12, one year DS, attends Williams Middle School). Darren (Aiden Moriarty, age 15, DS 5 tears, attends Holyoke High School). Brad (Dillon Fitzgerald, age 14, DS 3 years, attends Wilbraham Middle School). Lily (Sarah Glass, age 14,DS 6 years, attends Glenbrook Middle School). Michael Walker (Steve Folmar, age14, DS less than one year, attends Chestnut Middle School). Joey (Benjamin Demers, age 16, DS one year, attends East Longmeadow High School).
Commedia dell Smartas$$ by playwright Sonya Sobieski (no bio available) and directed by Mike Pray (assistant registrar for Drama Studio) runs about 30 minutes, clearly an ambitious undertaking. Stage Manager responsibillities are handled by Taylor Middleton (no bio available). The opening scene features Clown wearing all white long shirt, floor -length pants, a cap that covers her hair, and who pantomimes for several minutes, honoring the behavior of a true speechless clown, well-presented by Beke Berliner (age 19, DS 5 years, attends Holyoke Community College). Fencer (Sam Martin, age 16, first year at DS, attends Chicopee High School) is especially menacing in his fencing uniform. Fencer is tall and uses his build to spooky advantage. Girl Scout (Rachel Moore, age 16, 4 years at DS, attends Longmeadow High School) in many respects is the All-American girl. Henry is the only character not assigned a name that offers possible background information (Seth Olsen, age 17, 9 years at DS, attends East Longmeadow High School). He wrestles with Fencer; fences with Fencer; and during an engaging dance scene with Girl Scout, he goes from not knowing how to dance to shaking loose his bones (think Scarecrow on the Yellow Brick Road) and becoming a proficient swing dancer..... with a sense of humor.
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