Region 1 SDA Festival: Day 3

The final session of plays at the Region 1 SDA Festival is complete, with the final 2 plays going up this afternoon. Both were comedies, which was a nice way to end the festivities.

TEACHERS ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN by Bradley Hayward - Arcola High School - Teachers going totally insane seems to be a theme that runs through many of my plays, but never so evident as in this one. The Arcola cast seemed to be having a lot of fun up on the stage bringing the nutty teachers and bemused students to life. It was nice to see one of my outright comedies on the stage, especially since I've seen more of my "serious" comedies in the past year than the farcical stories I once wrote exclusively. A few of my high school friends attended the performance today and they all told me they saw a few quirks from our old teachers in the characters. That made my day, and is a huge compliment to the Arcola cast.

HAIRBALL by Lindsay Price - Lampman School - Director Christine Branyik-Thornton always goes full tilt for every production she works on and this was no exception. I have seen this play several times before, but I have never seen the titular "hair" done with such humor and creativity. There had to have been at least 20 inventive wigs created for the show, each one bigger and more outlandish than the one that came before it. Seriously, it is obvious that a lot of work went into each one of them and the result was absolutely stunning. The visual aspect of the show was the best I have ever seen for this particular play. Even better, the acting was equal to the wigs and it was clear the audience appreciated all the hard work that went into this very fun production.

I was able to have yet another ice cream Blizzard at Dairy Queen after the performances (my 4th in the last 3 days...which is probably 4 too many) with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was great to catch up with them and hear what they thought of all the plays. Now there are a couple of hours to wait before the banquet and awards ceremony. Stay tuned to the blog and I'll be sure to update you with the results!