Advanced Drama Play Advances to Semi-finals of Festival

DANIEL KATZ '08 and JESSICA PENZIAS '08

Come support the cast and crew in the semi-finals on March 15 at Marblehead Veterans' Middle School at 9:30 am!

On Saturday March 1, the 22 members of the cast and crew of this year’s Advanced Drama play, “Episode in the Life of an Author,” arrived at Sharon High School to compete in the Massachusetts Guild High School Drama Festival. The troupe was initially worried that the overnight snowstorm would postpone the event, but the snow slowed down as the cast and crew loaded the bus. After two performances at school and weeks of late night rehearsals, the Advanced Drama Class felt prepared for an event many of them had patiently awaited for four years.

The High School Drama Festival is the Drama Guild's largest event of the year, with over 100 schools competing from across the state. The festival is now in its seventh decade, and is open to every secondary school in Massachusettes. Sponsored by The Boston Globe and John Hancock Hall, the festival includes three levels: preliminary, semi-final and state finals. Individual awards are given out at each level, and two schools are chosen at the State Finals to represent the state at the New England Drama Festival.

Announced before each performance, the most important rules are as follows:

-No entry may exceed 40 minutes running time.
-A school is given 5 minutes to set up and 5 minutes to strike
-The director, cast, and crew must attend all levels of Festival in which they participate.

Beaver has a tradition of competing in the festival, and has done quite well in the past under the direction of Jen Yolles. Seven plays have made it to the semi-finals, and one play, “Volpone,” moved onto the state finals in 2004. Next time you walk from the main building to the lobby of the arts building, look at the wall to your left and notice the plaques from past festivals. In a school that sometimes lacks competitive success, the Drama Festival is often full of refreshing victories.

This year’s preliminary round was, once again, quite successful. After a strong performance at Sharon High School, Beaver was one of three schools from the site who moved onto the semi-finals. Beaver, Sharon High School, and Cambridge Rindge & Latin beat out five other schools for the three coveted spots. At the award ceremony, Beaver also picked up nine individual awards. Hannah Hutton, Dan Katz, Chi-Chi Ibili, and Vivek Pai received acting awards. Tech awards went to Micah Telegen for stage-managing, Nat Harrington for sound production, and Jeremy Karpf, Evan Leventhal, and Emily Salfity for on-stage technical work. The semi-finals will occur on March 15 at Marblehead Veterans' Middle School at 9:30 am.

----------------------------------------
The schedule of plays for the Semi Finals are as follows:

Host: Marblehead Veterans' Middle School,217 Pleasant Street, Marblehead

9:30 am Beaver Country Day School- Episode in the Life of an Author
10:30 am Cohasset Middle/ High School- A Whole New You
12:30 am Leominster High School- Wind in the Willows
1:30 pm Westford Academy- Dancing at Lughnasa
3:00 pm St. John's Preparatory School- The Odyssey
4:00 pm Saugus High School- Servant of Two Masters
---------------------------------------

Read more!

“Macbeth” was an action-packed spectacle

JESSICA PENZIAS ‘08

I attended the Beaver production of Macbeth on Friday November 9. Upon my entrance to Black Box Theater, I was immediately engrossed, albeit startled, when loud thunderous sounds and stimulating swordplay caught me off guard. Despite the overpowering fog machine, which engulfed the audience and incited numerous coughing fits, the atmosphere was extremely impressive. Actors hovered over the audience suspended on hanging wooden platforms, swordplay occurred feet in the air on the top tier of the multilevel set, and the scene was extended into the audience when soldiers, witches, and royalty marched past audience members. As a result, the twenty-first century audience members became embedded in the Elizabethan world, and intermission felt like time-traveling back to the future. I have seen many performances in the Black Box, but it is safe to say that Macbeth’s set far surpassed the rest.

I was initially skeptical about the casting of the play. The part of Macbeth, a typically overtly masculine character, was played by Olivia Carye-Hallstein. As a literature student, I view Macbeth as an alpha male character who is entirely emasculated by his calculating wife. As Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth, his size and strong masculine features highlight his inability to maintain the typical male power in his relationship. However, as an audience member, I had to suspend my dismay when the large, tough, male was depicted by a female. While I still stand by my belief that the audience cannot truly comprehend the emasculation of Macbeth when he is played by a female, Olivia’s impressive performance enabled me to stifle my uncertainty.

Additionally, the supporting cast’s enthusiasm was apparent from the beginning. They all assumed their roles well. Despite a few missed lines and stumbles over the difficult Shakespearean language, the performances were impressive. Standout performances include Sam Tincler, who played the role of Lady Macbeth. One of her numerous assets was her ability to permit the audience to fully comprehend her thoughts, motives, and emotions despite the language barrier. Mr. Manning also put on an admirable performance. While some may argue that Mr. Manning’s acting was unparalleled, I personally believe Sam stole the show.

Other highlights of the play included the numerous complex fight scenes (particularly those between Olivia & Vivek and Olivia & Dan) and a comical monologue performed by Michael Firer. Overall, the play was immensely enjoyable. Good work everyone!

Image from: Beaver web site
Read more!