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March 22

Skowhegan takes top honors at festival

High school’s production of ‘Cherry Orchard’ wins first at state drama competition

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

ROCKPORT -- Skowhegan Area High School won first place at the Maine Drama Festival this weekend.

Skowhegan now will represent Maine in the showcase New England Drama Festival in April.

The drama group, made up of 21 students in grades nine through 12, gained top spot in the statewide, Class A competition for its play "The Cherry Orchard," written by Anton Chekhov and directed by Maura Smith, Joanna Hopkins and Timothy Wheeler.

The competition, which involved a total of between 700 and 800 students, was held Friday and Saturday at Camden Hills Regional High School.

"I'm just so proud of our students. They did a beautiful show of what is a complex piece of literature. Their ensemble work, the work that they did as a company, to me it just showed what young people in central Maine can do," Smith said Sunday morning.

"(The students) were just thrilled, genuinely surprised ... I think some of them were in a state of disbelief. They knew they had a good show, an excellent show ... but I don't think they expected to win," she said, adding that the New England festival "for most of them will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Skowhegan competed against eight other schools from across the state. High schools from Falmouth, Ellsworth, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough earned respective accolades for second, third, fourth and fifth place, all scoring within 10 points of Skowhegan.

"There was some very, very high quality theater at our state finals," said Rick Ash, who coordinates the Maine Drama Festival with Robin Lisherness. He called Skowhegan's production a "simple, well-designed interpretation" of Chekhov's play.

The play, set in Russia in the early 1900s, tells the story of a family under financial strain that will likely have to sell its beloved cherry orchard, Smith said. It's a difficult piece to act because meaning is often portrayed in what characters do not say to one another, she said.

"The styles are dependent largely on pauses, listening to each other and communicating in ways other than through language, and that's the challenge of this particular style," Smith said.

The student-designed set includes a bridge that the actors cross, a period bench, constructed trees and a painted scenic backdrop. While a set is not necessary to tell a story, she said, "when you add those technical elements, and they're done beautifully and unobtrusively, they enhance the emotion of the piece; they help establish the time, the place and the condition of the characters lives."

Skowhegan last won the state competition in 2006, under the direction of Lisherness, who worked at the school 35 years. In addition to festival coordinator, he is also a liaison for the Maine Principal's Association and a representative of the Maine Drama Council.

In the years he was director at the high school, with co-director Hopkins, students won the state competition a total four times, he said. Before that, director Elizabeth Merrill took her plays "to the New Englands many, many times," he said.

"One thing I've been saying over and over is how proud I am of the director (Smith) and kids, that they're carrying on the tradition," he said.

Judges named three Skowhegan students to the All-Festival cast: Felix Xie, Steven Savio and Emily Pineo.

Technical awards went to seniors Marian Jackson and Kirsten Sylvain for set design, to Sylvain for scene painting, to junior Henry Bonneau for lighting design and to junior Sebastien Dumont for sound design.

Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield placed fifth in the Class B portion of the state competition for the play "Tuesdays and Sundays," written by Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn and directed by Debra Susi.

Judges named three MCI students to the All-Festival cast: Ben Glidden, A.J. Dennis, Annalise Carr and Tessa Hathaway. Judges gave commendations to MCI for best script adaptation and set design.

While Hermon High School won first place for Class B, the school did not declare eligibility for the New England competition, Ash said. So, the runner up, Rockland District High School, will perform instead. The festival will occur April 15-17 at Falmouth High School.

The regional and state drama competitions are sponsored by the Maine Principals Association in coordination with the Maine Drama Council.

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com