On Wednesday, Oct. 22, Mainstage students performed at the High School Theater Festival for their annual Virginia Theater Association(VSL) rating. They earned Superior and Excellent ratings, Best Costumes, Best Adaptation, and two students won Best Actor, an award given to eight in the state.
“We are evaluated on acting criteria, like character development, consistency, movement, overall energy, and tempo,” theatre arts director Jelita Perry said. “The ensemble as a whole is evaluated on commitment, focus, concentration, and cooperation. There are also categories that evaluate the direction, like blocking, choreography, use of space, pacing, casting, use of actor strengths, and conceptual interpretation.”
Mainstage performed William Shakespeare’s“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which focuses on two main plots. The first plot is between fairy king Oberon and queen Titania, and their fight over a child, while the second plot shows an acting troupe, the Mechanicals, preparing for a big performance before the king. This play is originally set in the 16th century but Perry modernized it to the 1920s. Students auditioned in early August, and their roles were released later that month.
“I play Titania in the play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’” junior Daveny Robinson said. “When auditioning for the show, I didn’t want a big role because I thought that I couldn’t handle it,then I started reading about the character Titania and, in a way, I kind of fell in love with the character. I am nothing like her and I think that is what I like about it because in a way this character has gotten me out of my comfort zone.”
Although some see acting as a hobby, theater students take the skills they learn to apply them to their future. The ability to participate in something larger than oneself is something that theater prioritizes, helping build a close-knit community.
“All theater work teaches students to persevere, collaborate, empathize, engage, and persevere,” Perry said. “At this conference, the whole Mainstage group grew closer in their connection and friendships and made new friends from other schools, they attended workshops on everything from audition skills to stage combat to dancing and had the opportunity to view about 17 other schools’ performances. This event creates memories and growth that last forever.”
Every year, mainstage students take away more than theater skills, they also make lifelong memories that help them grow not only as an actor, but as a person.
“I think this event has definitely helped a lot with what I need to do as an actor and many different ways that I can approach that,” Robinson said. “Some skills that I have learned is to always take on a challenge even if you don’t know how to approach it. It has taught me lots of social skills, and, in a way, it has taught me some dancing and projection skills as well.”
