FARMINGTON – Students from eight area schools will fill the Bjorn Auditorium this Friday and Saturday, as the Maine Drama Festival comes to the Mt. Blue High School for the first time since 2000.
A friendly competition between high school drama programs, the annual event is sponsored by the Maine Drama Council and the Maine Principal’s Association. Each school gets a little less than an hour to rehearse a play of their choice, with each show fitting into a 40-minute window. Shows are judged on production values such as set design, acting and costumes. Performances will run all weekend and are open to the public.
The festival is held at a different venue each year. This year, Mt. Blue is hosting Lewiston, Edward Little, Oxford Hills, Spruce Mountain, Monmouth Academy, Winthrop and Winslow.
Mt. Blue’s entry this year is a student written and directed piece called “Danser,” by high school junior Milo Michelle. A story that went through multiple iterations, Danser is a melancholy tale about a man that loses his wife and raises his daughter by himself. Milo worked with both teacher Dan Ryder on the writing of Danser, as well as MBHS Drama Director Deborah Muise.
Milo, who has been writing stories for years, called the directing of Danser “one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.”
“It’s an entirely different world,” Milo said, referencing a learning process that included holding auditions, providing the cast of five students notes and a massive investment of time. For Milo, part of the pay off has been watching the student actors breath life into their parts. “I’m learning what this play actually is from them,” Milo said.
Danser will run on Friday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. Also performing that evening will be Lewiston with Peter Tarsi’s “Tracks” at 7:30 p.m.; followed by Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School with Bradley Walton’s “The Tree” at 8:30 p.m.
Five more plays will run Saturday, March 9, beginning with Spruce Mountain High School’s “Mirrors” by Jerome McDonough at 12:30 p.m.; followed by Winthrop High School’s “937” by Don Zolidis at 1:30 p.m.; Winslow High School’s “Just a Stage He’s Going Through” by Pat Cook at 2:30 p.m.; Monmouth Academy’s “Radium Girls” by D.W. Gregory at 6:30 p.m.; and Edward Little High School’s “How Does a Thing Like That Get Started?” by Pat Cook at 7:30 p.m.
Admission to the festival is $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Doors will be locked during each performance so there will not be any late entry.
Those hoping to catch Danser, but are unable to attend Friday’s performance, will have a second chance next weekend. In another annual tradition, the Mt. Blue Middle School, MBHS and district faculty programs will be putting on Danser, “Don’t Say Macbeth” and “Mud Season,” respectively. The shows will run at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15, at the Bjorn Auditorium.
Don’t Say Macbeth, the MBMS play directed by teacher and drama director Kat Zachary, pokes fun at Shakespeare’s work, as well as the infamous Curse of Macbeth that prohibits speaking the name of “the Scottish Play” in a theater lest disaster strike.
Mud Season, written by Ryder, is about how waitresses in a Maine diner escape the doldrums of the season. It will star Melody Bickford, Adrienne Davis and Katie Joseph. It’s directed by students Kennady Savage and Molly Gurney.
