The Avon Drama Club packed up their set, props, and personal belongings and headed to Brookings to participate in the State One-Act Festival on Saturday February 6th. The festival was a little different than usual due to Covid-19 restrictions. It is usually a three-day festival where all AA, A, and B schools who have qualified for the state level all gather and watch each other perform. This year, the festival was cut to two days and the classes were separated at three different sites. Schools were not permitted to watch each other’s performances, or listen in on their critique session.

SDSU, in Brookings, hosted the schools from Class B. They were very gracious hosts and made us feel comfortable and welcome. Their stage, theater, and dressing room was more than accommodating. The cast was not permitted on stage before their set performance time, which did leave to a little confusion among them on where to place the set once their competition time started. Once time starts the cast and crew has 45 to set the stage, put on the show, clear the stage, and strike the show. If not done in the allotted time, the team is disqualified. Once we got our placement for the set ironed out, the show went on without a hitch. The cast performed for a near empty theater, with only 3 judges in the audience, however lots of family members were at home gathered around their screens as SDPB was live streaming the performance.

After performing, the cast and crew were led to a matinee auditorium where we got to visit with the judges. They loved the existentialism of the play. They commented on how they enjoyed seeing the relationships growing on the stage, and suggested in future plays we try to make the relationships more evident earlier in the performance. The judges were impressed with how well actors portrayed their characters’ emotions. Suggestions were made that some actions were only seen by some judges because of position in the theater. Bigger actions and reactions could grab the attention from audience members seated throughout the theater. The judges seemed pleased with our actors conveying private information from characters in a way that got the judges themselves to become emotionally vested in the outcome. One judge said his take away from our performance was a life lesson, “Be true to yourself.”

The Avon Drama Club members celebrated with a nice dinner at Whiskey Creek, then spent the rest of the evening at the hotel pool, hot tub, and playing PS2 in the rooms. We packed up in the frigid morning temperatures and returned home that afternoon. We had a great time, and hope to make a return appearance to the State One-Act Festival in the near future!

An awards ceremony was held via Zoom on Tuesday, February 9th. We learned that five out of nine of our actors had received a gold medal for an Individual Superior Acting Award at the state level. Congratulations to Rachael DeJong, Haleigh Tjeerdsma, Noah Watchorn, Caleb Wallinga, and Kley Heumiller.

The cast and crew got two days of break, then started practicing for our next performance, The Purrfect Crime, which will be performed on Apri117th. This comedy performance is a dinner theater in conjunction with Avon Post Prom doing the meal.

Tickets can be purchased at the school office or from Loretta Knodel from March 15th through April 9th. Cost is $12 and will include dinner, a show and dessert at intermission. Show only tickets will also be available at the door for $4 each.