On Saturday March 3rd, despite the weather and high tides, Hull High School Theatre Arts participated in the preliminary round of the METG High School Theatre Festival at Hanover High School. This was HHSTA's second year of participating with an entry and their choice was Douglas Craven's drama Lockdown.
Senior Melaney Jenkins chose the piece due to the anti-bulling/anti-violence message and recruited junior Sarah Ashley to be the student producer. The two held auditions in September and recruited a production team comprised entirely of students. Set design was by senior Chris Rivieccio who also led the construction project. Lighting was by junior Marcus Kurciviez and costumes were coordinated by Olivia Whitman, a junior and Rebecca Rosenbaum, a sophomore.
"Unfortunately the relevancy of this show has come crashing down on us with the news of the latest school shootings", says director Jenkins. The show is based in a local high school during a lockdown situation where the students are unaware if what is happening in the building is a drill or an emergency situation. When the teacher leaves the room after a panic stricken student, the rest of the students are left on their own to cope with the circumstances.
The performance was previewed for students and faculty at Hull High School and then performed at festival. Both audiences were riveted by the acting. A student recognition award from Dover Sherborn High School read "for working with such a difficult and relevant topic that kept us on the edge of our seats... (at the end of the show) the loudest quiet ever." Both Chris Riviccieo and Olivia Whitman also received awards for excellence in acting.
The Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild hosts the festival each year. The preliminary round this year began with 112 schools at different schools throughout the state. Winners from each site move on to semifinals, and then a final competition where the state winner is chosen to represent Massachusetts in the New England Drama Festival.
Although Hull did not move on to the next round, director Jim Sullivan is extremely proud of the students' work. "In only our second year of entering the festival we have gone from just putting in an entry to producing an award winning show that was an actual contender in the top performing schools. Hull High School was the only school at our site to be completely student produced and led, the only school to not have an advisor with them backstage, the only school that did not have an advisor on the panel for the Q&A session. This part of our program is integral in developing youth leadership skills and the credit belongs entirely to the students of HHSTA themselves."
 |
| Sarah Ashley, '19, the student producer, sits on the panel of directors to field questions from the students at festival. |
Director of Theatre Arts
Hull High School
180 Main St. Hull, MA 02045
781-925-8001 x 1119
