BHS one-act play earns raves, multiple awards at state theater festival
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
Even watching from the wings Saturday in Stevens Point, Burlington High School drama director Carrie Fidler knew she was watching something special unfold.
Five student actors were putting out their final performance of “Rabbit Hole” – this year’s one-act competition play at BHS – and even after watching the play done over and over, Fidler still saw something new.
“I had chills down by spine at state,” Fidler said. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
What followed doesn’t happen very often, either. The BHS cast won awards in every category at the two-day Wisconsin High School Theatre Festival, held at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Friday and Saturday.
In addition to earning the Critics’ Choice award – given to the top shows of the 50 or so at the festival – BHS also earned an award for Outstanding Ensemble Acting, Outstanding Acting by Hannah Anderson, Cole Conrad and Michael Pinter, and Outstanding Directing by Fidler and Paul Ivkovich.
This year marked a personal milestone for the program, as it was the 10th consecutive year that the BHS one-act competed at the state festival.
According to everyone involved, that milestone was something all were aware of.
“I think all of the students were very aware of that number,” said Fidler. “This is a Pulitzer-Prize winning play. You want to do it justice.”
Pinter added, “It was something I personally felt we needed to live up to. This was the milestone for us. We knew we were going to make it a big year.”
So much so that 30 to 35 students tried out for the five available roles in the play – written by David Lindsey-Abaire. “Rabbit Hole” is a drama about a family dealing with the tragedy of losing their 4-year-old son in a car accident. The boy chased his dog into the street, and a teenage driver on the road swerves to avoid the dog and hits the boy.
The play picks up a few months after the tragedy, as everyone tries to move on with their lives. Parents Becca (played by Lexi Baker) and Howie (Michael Pinter) look for their own resolution, with Becca reaching out to the teenage driver, Jason (played by Conrad).
Becca’s sister, Izzy (played by Anderson) also plays a role, and Becca’s mother Nat (played by Ali Knight) is involved as well.
In describing the play, Fidler said, “What becomes clear is that, while the loss of Danny is the most profound loss, all of the characters are grieving and broken in many respects, and need to understand each other to heal.”
Fidler cut the full-length play down to the 45-minute piece performed in competition, and chose it this year to provide contrast to the comedy “How Does a Thing Like That Get Started” performed last fall.
BHS has done dramas before – including “Steel Magnolias” two years ago – but this one provided a special challenge.
“It was like the hardest show I’ve ever had to do,” said Knight. “It took a lot of really in-depth thinking to really connect with the character.
“The message in the story was huge.”
And even throughout the process, that message and how the student actors connected with it continued to evolve.
“One thing Paul (Ivkovich) said is that, ‘You’ll never be done exploring this show,” Fidler explained.
That certainly seemed to be the case at state. Given what Fidler thought was the perfect stage – the smaller of the two theaters, what she called the “black box” stage – the performance hit an epic high.
“The kids added stuff in the last show,” Fidler said. “They tried to push it forward. That kind of effort is really impressive.
“The actors and crew were almost shaking” afterward, she added.
Knight said, “After those kind of shows, you know you’ve done well … if you still feel that grief for your characters.
“We all came back stage and pretty much cried,” she added. “You felt grief for those characters.”
Pinter said that, at state, he felt he was in character even when he wasn’t on stage.
“I felt everything that was going on,” he said.
And Evan Czysz, one of the eight crew members (and one of those who tried out but wasn’t cast), added, “Watching the show every night … some people would grow numb. After that performance, it felt like it happened for real.”
Certainly, Fidler said, they left that impression with the judge who came in to critique them.
“She had nothing to say that could’ve been improved,” Fidler said. “I’ve never had that happen.
“She said, ‘I’m still taking in that performance.’”
BHS 2012 One-act play
Rabbit Hole
Cast
Becca: Lexie Baker
Howie: Michael Pinter
Izzy (Becca’s Sister): Hannah Anderson
Nat (Becca’s Mother): Alexandria Knight
Jason (teenager): Cole Conrad
Crew
Eli Erdmann; Brittany Lamp; Danny Levandoski; Evan Czysz; Mason Hawes; Andrea Pangburn; Ashley Anderson
Alex Weber.
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