Two Weekends of Winter Shorts

2011

January 28, 29, 30, February 4, 5, 6, 2011

Production Manager/Sound Design – Dan Morbyrne

Costume Design – Greta Breglio-Redman

Set Design – Craig Milne

REVIEWED BY B. K. GRANT

Having attended last year’s Winter Shorts Festival, this reviewer was excited to again enjoy this season’s Drama Studio offerings.

I was blown away by nearly two hours of amazing entertainment.

The first of three short plays, Tortilla Rita, by Quinn Hegarty (the storyteller in Peter Pan) is a lively situation comedy in which brother Chuck, well played by Ariel Rothberg, dislikes his sister Bethany’s beau. Bethany, a down-to-earth type, and Games, an aristocratic stuffed-shirt (Ellen Morbyrne, Mat Bussler) are a couple in love and are convincingly comfortable with their living arrangement. In an attempt to alienate Games, Chuck hires a waitress (dynamic seventeen year old Olivia Opal) to play his obnoxious girlfriend.

Twist of fate: Games falls for “Rita”, packs up and leaves. Or should I say he falls for what she represents; he is astounded by her animated personality, her freedom of expression, even her cupie-doll makeup. Games sheds his upper-class chains and vamps as Rita, from the short fuzzy wig down to the shiny black tap shoes. The audience roars as he suggestively sprawls across the dining room table, twirling his chest hair in his fingertips.

Unaware of Games’ transformation, Bethany embraces the “Rita” mode herself, hoping to please her intended and lure him back. A “Rita” epidemic develops as the novel persona catches on.

Tortilla Rita, directed by Dan Morbyrne, complete with guacamole, is very entertaining.. Stage Manager Rachel Gallagher, with cast and crew, affected many smooth scene changes using a few basic props. A brief exchange with playwright Quinn Hegarty prior to curtain time revealed he enjoys creating as well as performing. This reviewer feels he is very adept at both.

The second play, Ghost Story, by Peter Paleologopoulos, although short, is packed with believable childhood sentiment. A second year student, Julia Adamo credibly portrays Sarah, a pre-teen who has recently lost her little brother in a tragic accident. As she deals with her grief, Jacob’s ghost appears to her in her room. Matt Walting, in his first DS production, is Jacob, a typical, energetic little boy, flying around his sister’s room as he ‘plays airplane’. “Mom and Dad can’t see me” he explains. A sorrowful Sarah listens in disbelief as Jacob relates his experience and asks to stay with her, to have fun – and not go to school - to be a family again. Sarah’s pain is evident as she struggles with the situation; she firmly tells him she cannot take care of him and urges him to go. Moments after Jacob leaves, Sarah has a change of heart and runs after him; the theater darkens, and the audience is subjected to sirens and flashing lights. Strains of Sarah McLaughlin’s ‘I Will Remember You’ gently waft through the commotion.

Peter is a Longmeadow High School student; Ghost Story is his first play produced at the Drama Studio. With Rebecca Paul (Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan) as director and 14 year old Rachel Moore as stage manager, this play is a winner.

The Fairy Lie is third in the Winter Shorts lineup this opening weekend. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this production by members of the ACT class. Three dozen young people from grammar school through high school ages mastered reams of dialog and choreography, delivering an outstanding performance.

The story line, as the title indicates, is based on a lie told by young Isabelle, played by eleven year old Aubrey Daviau. She is sister to older brother Kyle (eighth grader William Maldonado), both offspring of working parents who lead busy work-related lives. The lie which Isabelle blurts out in front of classmates concerns having a pet fairy, an announcement she regrets almost as soon as it is spoken. Of course the other children don’t believe her and Isabelle hurries away in embarrassment. Unknown to her, she is being watched; nine year old Chloe Connolly is Sylvia, a young fairy of independent spirit, mature beyond her years. Through the magic of large screen video, a distraught Isabelle wishes on a shooting star (Sylvia hurrying back home to the Ancient Wood), hoping that fairies really do exist.

Although she appeared in her celestial form, young Sylvia still broke the rules by allowing a human to see her; therefore, now she must leave the wood to live among the dreaded species. She accepts responsibility for her actions and, developing a relationship with Isabelle, slowly learns to trust her first human. It is a conditional relationship: Isabelle must build Sylvia a fairy house. Following strict guidelines, materials are gathered and Isabelle creates a lovely abode. The large video projected on the screen affords the audience a fairy’s point of view of the little human girl’s diligence.

A bully decides to teach Isabelle a lesson for lying by stealing the fairy house. Brother Kyle and good friend Jordan (Lukas McNamara, lost boy Slightly in Peter Pan) don makeshift fairy outfits, and, in successfully retrieving the missing domicile, become the comical highlight of the evening. Isabelle’s creation sparks a project within her age group that not only results in their productively working together, but also becomes a benefit for humanity.

The lovely variety of music in this hour long enchanted fairytale continually sets an ethereal mood. The Fairy Lie is directed by Dan Morbyrne and Amelia Hays-Rivest; stage manager is high school freshman Stefanie Zitka. Working together during multiple scene changes, the cast and crew use minimal but artistic props to easily create the best of two worlds.

The performance the Drama Studio extracts from its young students is like none this reviewer has seen before. The delivery is constantly improving; fresh new faces amaze us with command of their characters; and the creative ability of these young minds is astonishing.

Bravo, Drama Studio, for another amazing Winter Shorts Festival; Bravo!

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