BHS one-act play garners bevy of state awards
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Correspondent
In its final performance of the season Friday afternoon, the Burlington High School one-act play found its storybook ending – both on and off the field.
Performing “The Baseball Show” and appearing at state after a one-year absence, Burlington’s play brought home the Outstanding Ensemble award as well as having 10 different actors and actresses recognized for outstanding performance.
“It’s awesome,” said director Carrie Fidler. “We knew from the get-go that this is an ensemble show. You can’t even distinguish the crew from the cast, because of the way they’re on and off.
“Almost everybody’s on the stage the whole time,” she added. “It’s the ultimate teamwork. To see that rewarded is just wonderful.”
It was an emotional day for the entire group, 51 cast members, crew and directors. The week before state, local media outlets addressed the piece of the set that honored Hunter Morby, Jason Davis and Landon Brown – three area students killed in a car crash on the Memorial Day weekend. Brown had taken part in the one-act plays at BHS, Morby was a frequent actor in the school’s musicals, and all three were close friends.
“They were all part of the ensemble,” Fidler said. “And everyone who ever does this is part of our family.”
But Friday afternoon’s performance, while poignant, was mainly joyous. In addressing the cast while waiting for the judges’ critique, Fidler told the group, “The crowd was with you from the first moment.”
Judge Patrick Barlow, who handed out the awards and critiqued the show, praised the cast for creating a great moment on stage.
“You touched some hearts, you touched some minds, and you learned a great deal from your faculty directors,” he said.
In addition to the strong performance, Burlington also brought home the most awards it has ever corralled at the state theater festival. In addition to the ensemble award, Andrew Kawalec, Claire Turke, Quinn Turke, Elijah Trapp, Gabe King, Jacey Pope, Jessica Smith, Kate Barker, Sam Jorudd and Zach Schmitt were all recognized, most for numerous roles.
Read the full story and see a photo of the award-winning cast and crew in the Nov. 23 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-