2004 has been a very busy year so far for McLean High School Drama Department led by Theatre Director Denise Perrino. The first show of 2004 was the "One Act Play Festival" held Feb. 19, 20, and 21.
Eight original and vastly different shows were presented to packed houses on all three evenings. The technical director for this event was Patrick Quinn. The production staff included Kat Williams on sound, Chris McCrierie as assistant. Lights: Matt Schnall and Sean Deardorff and the busy stage crew: Michael Gibson, Melanie Ain, Jane Kadyszewski, Sarah Wiener, and Erica Wickman.
"The Sky Is Falling" was written and directed by Marshall Finch. Costumes - Leila Ben-Abdallah, Make-up - Kate Nishimura. The technical crew included Melody Ain, Erica Wickman, Matt Schnall, Sean Deardorf, Chris McCririe and Patrick Quinn. The large cast included: Fritz Reuter, Lina Misitzis, Abigail Fine, Leila Ben-Abdallah, Izzy Smith, Tom Avis, Mike Gibson, Ethan Klein, Caitlin McCormick , Katte Etter, Emily Haines, Caroline Kleger, Elizabeth Milton, Jana Smith, Aggie Stoffel, and Julia Vans.
"Direction," written and directed by Stephanie Bachula included the talents of Evan Meyer, Madie Hansen, Holli Sawyer, Bligh Voth, Jessica McDaniel, Will Carmody, Jim Evans, Ethan Klein, Abeer Desai and Patrick Barrett.
"Variations on the Death of Trotsky" by David Ives was directed by Zach Roberts and assisted by Cassidy Dowling. Alex Krall, Zara Axelrod and Abeer Desai presented this tale.
"Stage Noir" is a one-act written by Erin Hallagan and edited by Patrick Barrett. The assistant director was James Reddish. Cast included Patrick Barrett, Cassidy Dowling, Jesse Rogers, James Reddish, Bligh Voth, Carolina Ize, Gisele Murad and Holli Sawyer.
"The Never Ending Circle" was written and directed by Bret Vandenbos and Matt Sullivan. Cast members included: Alex Duffy, Alden McCray, Michael Lowell, Jesse Rogers, Karyn Bruggeman, Mike Gibson, Monica Perez, Eric Epstein, Katie O'Rourke, Lauren Rode, Fritz Reuter, Alexis Colopy, Kayla Shattuck, Alex Krall, Paul Weinberg, and Beth Shapiro.
"Rachel n' the Profit$" was written and directed by James Taube and Stephen Kane. Katherine Raheem, Minica Gabriel, Matt Boehm, Beyang Shi, Saman Hossenini, Pietro Perrino, Malka Roth, Bryan Terrill, Jim Evans, Matt Keck and Marshall Betts rounded out the cast.
"Nocturnia," written and directed by David Frantz. Cast members: Laura May, Vanessa Callahan, Katie O'Connor, Alexa DuBray, Catherine Dry, Erica Manoatl, and Emily Vaughan.
"What's The Anscois Francois?" was written and directed by Phil Collender and Tom Avis. Their cast included: Chris Alison, Eric Epstein, Nick Hagen, Todd Wuehrmann, Alex Duffy, S. Ben-Abdallah, Phil Collender, Bruce Gilmore, Alex Krall, Marshall Finch, Andrea Surette, Jennifer Kenealy, Linnie Beard, Vyomika Jairam, Sarah Deisz, Kate Langevoort, Deena Eliteby, Sara Quinteras, Anna Haartwick, Asha Toulmin, Sahar Fahimi, Emily Haines, Alessandra Barbiero, Caroline Kleger, Elizabeth Milton, Jana Smith, and Julia Vans.
MHS DRAMA CLASSES have been busy learning and growing, studying not only in the classroom, but working on the Folger Stage and at the Shakespeare Theatre. They have worked on mime and creating "silent movies" in Theatre I.
The Drama II class performed at the 24th Annual Emily Jordan Folger Secondary School Shakespeare competition recently.
This festival included 56 schools from all over the D.C. metro area and won acting awards for Leila Ben-Abdallah, Fritz Reuter and Katie O'Connor as well as an ensemble award. They performed works from "Hamlet," "Romeo and Juliet," and "The Tempest." They are also working diligently on "Alice In Wonderland" for performances in local elementary schools complete with an authentic tea party.
THE ADVANCED drama class is participating in "Text Alive." The class is partnering with The Shakespeare Theatre on "Henry Iv, Part One." They will participate in master classes to refine skills, develop understanding of Shakespearean language and develop a deeper understanding of classical Shakespeare. In addition, they are working on a black box production of "Twelve Angry Men" for presentation to Longfellow Middle School Students as well as McLean students in May.
Included in the cast are Philip Collender, Paul Weinberg, Monica Perez, Monica Gabriel, Eric Epstein, Abeer Desai, Evan Meyer, James Taube, Jordan Shetterly, Todd Wuehrmann, Marshall Finch, Ethan Klein, Stephanie Bachula and Cassidy Dowling. "Twelve Angry Men" is a three-act play with 11 jurors convinced of a teenager's guilt in the killing of his father. Despite the overwhelming evidence against this teen there is one lone juror convinced of this young man's innocence. This is a demanding and suspenseful show that will stretch the actors' skills and send a powerful message to every audience.