Rockland wins Class B at Midcoast drama regional Camden Hills named Class A alternate

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Midcoast drama regional Camden Hills named Class A alternate by Dagney C.

to the Editor ROCKLAND Late Saturday night, as torrential rains finally lightened up on the Rockland District

an awards ceremony frequently punctuated with whoops and cheers.

At Friday night s opening session, RDHS outgoing principal Michael Gundel, representing the sponsoring Maine

1 Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Home Search News Archives e-editions Classified & Auto Real Estate Maine Connection Classified Place An Ad NOW! Maine Connection Auto Top Advertisers Auto Ads Employment Ads Real Estate & Rentals Ads Advertisers/Services FIND IT NOW Business Directory Restaurant Menus Advertising Circulars News Local News Politics Community Cops & Courts Letters & Editorials Columnists Obituaries Business Milestones Sports Arts & Entertainment Living Green Maine Photos NOW Your Photos Blogs Special Publications Interactive Submit a Letter to the Editor Submit Press Release Submit Story Ideas Submission Forms Can You Help Us? RSS Feeds Specialties Chambers of Commerce Cooking Health & Well-Being Home & Garden Horoscopes Lighthouses & Harbors Volunteering - Community Service Contact Us Our Staff Circulation - Subscribe Newspaper Printing Service Advertising Rates Employment Opportunities Courier - Gazette > Breaking News Rockland wins Class B at Midcoast drama regional Camden Hills named Class A alternate by Dagney C. Ernest (Created: Sunday, March 9, :12 PM EDT) More Breaking News Text Size Comment Print Letter to the Editor ROCKLAND Late Saturday night, as torrential rains finally lightened up on the Rockland District High School s auditorium roof, the Maine Drama Festival s 2008 Midcoast Regionals came to conclusion during an awards ceremony frequently punctuated with whoops and cheers. The enthusiasm demonstrated by and for all participants is a hallmark of the festival. At Friday night s opening session, RDHS outgoing principal Michael Gundel, representing the sponsoring Maine Principals Association, said the annual drama fest is his favorite MPA event because it is the one in which the students cheer for students from every school. Having gotten their performance out of the way, Georges Valley High School s cast and crew blow off some steam with parent advisor Camilla Gray. Dagney C. 1 of 5 3/25/08 5:13 AM

presentation over the two-day, three-session event a standing ovation.

Rockland District High School was chosen to go to the state finals for Class B (less than 550 students) and Lincoln Academy was selected to move on in the larger Class A.

In addition to mounting ambitious plays in the competition, RDHS and Lincoln Academy hosted the event, with Lincoln Academy s Griff Braley and his crew handling the demanding technical requirements

The lighting booth is manned by, from left, Rockland District High School s Mitchell Tucker, Lincoln Academy s Chris Martin and RDHS Alex Young. Dagney C.

2 Web MaineCoastNOW.com Google Search Indeed, led many times by the large contingent from Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, the audience of students, teachers, parent, siblings and friends from the community gave every presentation over the two-day, three-session event a standing ovation. When the greasepaint had settled Saturday night, the Midcoast regional s panel of three judges had selected two schools to move in each of the festival s two divisions. Rockland District High School was chosen to go to the state finals for Class B (less than 550 students) and Lincoln Academy was selected to move on in the larger Class A. Alternates/second place were Searsport District High School in Class B and Camden Hills Regional High School in Class A. In addition to mounting ambitious plays in the competition, RDHS and Lincoln Academy hosted the event, with Lincoln Academy s Griff Braley and his crew handling the demanding technical requirements and RDHS drama director Alison Machaiek, all the other elements of hosting hundreds of students from seven schools for two days. The lighting booth is manned by, from left, Rockland District High School s Mitchell Tucker, Lincoln Academy s Chris Martin and RDHS Alex Young. Dagney C. Calendar of Events March 2008 S M T W T F S Dire weather predictions all week had the MPA considering postponing the event, which involved more than 3,000 students from 70 schools at nine regionals across the state. CHRHS Rick Ash, the official rep of the Maine Drama Council, was not alone in expressing relief that the decision was to go on with the festival, which takes months of planning. Because of the predicted heavy rains and possible icing, several changes were made including shortening the critique sessions and starting the final session a half hour earlier. The MPA also waived the requirement that competing schools must attend both days of the festival in case Saturday s weather proved dangerous. In the end, however, the rain s only effect was to North Haven Community School s troupe spent Friday and Saturday nights at the Trade Winds in order to attend the Maine Drama Festival s Midcoast regional. Dagney C. 2 of 5 3/25/08 5:13 AM

And the evening s final production, Ellsworth High School s Leitmotif, was disqualified because all the lights were not turned off after the stage was cleared, one of the many technicalities that

3 make loading set pieces for travel Saturday night a soaking endeavor. Friday s session had a few quirks to keep things interesting. The start of the evening s first play, SDHS At the Bottom of Lake Missoula, was delayed because the co-director, a teacher, lost her brakes in Camden as she drove to RDHS. And the evening s final production, Ellsworth High School s Leitmotif, was disqualified because all the lights were not turned off after the stage was cleared, one of the many technicalities that must be adhered to throughout the competition. There were, as always other moments of drama including Camden Hills set-up for its one-act version of The Diary of Anne Frank Saturday afternoon that just made the 5-minute cut-off. The Midcoast regional was judged by Mel Howards, professor emeritus from Northeastern University; Susan Picinich, professor of theater and associate dean of University of Southern Maine; and Belfast Maskers co-founder Diane Coller Wilson. In addition to the selections for the Medomak Valley High School s cast and crew relax Saturday night in-between shows at the Maine Drama Festival s Midcoast regional at Rockland District High School. Dagney C. Ernest/photos at state finals, the judges chose students be honored as members of the All Festival Cast and gave special commendations for a variety of the elements. Rockland District High School The flapper ensemble of RDHS A Comedy of Errors was cited for Outstanding Precision of Ensemble. Kotaro Taniguchi, who appeared as the Duke of Ephesus, was recognized for Excellence in Live Sound Effects for the show s many comedic sounds, percussion and musical elements. Named to the All Camden Hills Regional High School brought one of the biggest contingents to the Maine Drama Festival s Midcoast regional at Rockland District High School. Dagney C. Festival Cast were the play s two sets of twins : David Searle and Christian Willey as Antipholuses and TJ Dodge and Mike Brown as Dromios. Medomak Valley High School 3 of 5 3/25/08 5:13 AM

4 MVHS, which presented a staged episode of British television s Fawlty Towers, had three actors named to the All Festival Cast: Robert Wareheim as Manuel; Malcolm Valaitis as Basil Fawlty; and Noelle Beck as Mrs. Richards. Georges Valley High School GVHS Elliot Bryant was named Outstanding Student Director Comedy for his helming of three short plays by David Ives. Named to the All Festival Cast were Sure Thing actors Katherine Hynd as Betty and Gilbert Boynton as Bill. North Haven Community School NHCS presented the weekend s shortest work, Medea by Wendy Wasserstein. Rory Curtin and Leta Hallowell were named to the All Festival Cast for their tandem portrayal of The Chorus. Camden Hills Regional High School CHRHS The Diary of Anne Frank won three judges commendations, for Set Design and Construction; Overall Ensemble Excellence Drama; and Kayla Dinces was named Outstanding Student Director Drama. Named to the All Festival Cast were Anna Rich as Anne Frank, Sam Bakley as Otto Frank and MacKenzie Gassett as Mrs. Van Daan. On to the states Two Midcoast schools are already in process of preparing for the state finals, set for Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22. Camden Hills will host the Class A finals, and Rockland will have to take its show on the road to Cape Elizabeth High School. That is a bit of turnabout for RDHS, the one school that did not have to truck a set and bus their cast and crew over the weekend. Hosting is a lot of hard work, said director Machaiek Sunday. But when I saw everyone trying to load their U-Hauls in the rain Saturday night, I thought, at least we don t have to do that! Rockland s Just Off Broadway Players will have to raise funds for their trip to the finals and expect to announce a spaghetti dinner theater performance for next week. Reader Messages There are No comments posted. The opinions expressed in reader-posted comments are not necessarily the opinions of MaineCoastNOW.com, Courier Publications or its newspapers and staffs. MaineCoastNOW.com, Courier Publications and its newspapers and staffs do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any reader-posted comment. Responsibility for what is posted lies with each user. REGISTRATION IS FREE. You must register with a valid to post comments on MaineCoastNOW.com. Only your member ID will be posted with your comments. Please keep the following in mind when commenting: Spirited debate is essential to our online forum. Unwarranted and personal attacks against any person, public or private, are not acceptable. Posts containing such personal attacks violate our Standards and Terms of Use and will be edited or removed. Registered users sign in here: *Member ID: *Password: Become a Registered User Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required! *Create a Member ID: 4 of 5 3/25/08 5:13 AM

5 Remember *Choose a login? Return to Courier - Gazette: Breaking News password: Print (requires *Re-enter cookies) password: Forgot Your Password? * Address: Login *Year of Birth: *First Name: *Last Name: *Zip Code: (children under 13 cannot register) Male or Female:? Male Female Reader of a Courier Publications newspaper? (The Bar Harbor Times, Capital Weekly, The Camden Herald, The Courier-Gazette, The Republican Journal, The Waldo Independent) Yes No If, yes, Subscriber or Newsstand? ( top ) Create Account Town & Country, REALTORS 14B School Street, Rockland, ME We're on your way home. Copyright 2008 MaineCoastNow.com - Courier Publications, All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy 5 of 5 3/25/08 5:13 AM

School shows head for Midcoast stages

School shows head for Midcoast stages Monday, November 12, 2007 Home Search News Archives e-editions Classified & Auto Real Estate Maine Connection Classified Place An Ad NOW! Maine Connection Auto Top Advertisers Auto Ads Employment Ads Real