State One Act Play Festival

What happens when a dancing caterpillar becomes famous worldwide? How does a fire in an industrial factory in 1911 affect its workers and owners? What transpires when a play examines the process of self-exploration, identity formation, and self-reconciliation? How does one teacher inspire children living in a Jewish ghetto during the Holocaust? These are a few of the topics that will play themselves out on stage during the 2014 State One Act Play Festival.

Scores of the state’s most promising actors and actresses will take to the stage performing 16 one act plays this Thursday and Friday, Feb. 13 and 14, at St. Catherine University’s O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul during the 66th annual festival.

Park Rapids Area (Class A) leads all qualified schools by making its 27th festival appearance. Eagan is making its 19th appearances in the Class AA festival. Eagan also leads all schools in “starred performances” and is hoping to earn its 18th this year.

Three schools are making their first appearances this year: Nova Classical Academy of St. Paul in Class A, and Duluth East and Irondale of New Brighton in Class AA.

Thursday’s festival-opening production will be Around the World in 80 Days in Under 35 Minutes by New Prague and the day concludes with The Actor’s Nightmare by Irondale. The other Class AA selections to be presented on Thursday are: My Client Curley; Frozen; The Triangle Factory Fire Project; The Diviners; Wiley and the Hairy Man; and La Dispute.

The curtain opens on Friday with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Nova Classical Academy and the day’s concluding play will be The Drowsy Professor by Belle Plaine. The other Class A productions scheduled on Friday are: And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson; Anti-Play; I Never Saw Another Butterfly; Between the Lines; Wiley and the Hairy Man; and FREAK.

The plays are limited to no more than 35 minutes, following a maximum 10-minute stage set-up. Total cast and crew cannot exceed 20 students.

It is a festival — not a competition. However, each production will be judged and publicly critiqued immediately following each performance. Each cast will attempt to achieve an exceptional rating known as a “starred performance.” In 2013, for example, seven of the 16 plays, four from Class AA and three from Class A, were awarded “starred performance” ratings.

The Spotlight on the Arts Award of Excellence will also be presented at the 2014 festival, a unique form of recognition for fine arts participants created by Wells Fargo, the League’s premier corporate sponsor, in cooperation with the League. Each cast and crew member of schools earning a “starred performance” rating will receive a handsome acrylic trophy incorporating the Spotlight on the Arts logo.

The Class A schools participating this year (including number of appearances and * starred performance years) are: Rushford-Peterson (third under this name; * in 1998; Rushford made six additional appearances, earning a * in 1960 and ’64); Park Rapids Area (27th; * in 1972, ’75, ’76, ’78, ’79, ’82, ’91, ’93, ’94, 2000, ’09, ’10, and ’11); Belle Plaine (12th; * in 1993, ’97, ’99, 2000, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’11, ’12 and ’13); East Central [Sandstone/Askov] (seventh; * in 1989, 2002, ’04, and ’12); Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (fourth under this name; * in 1999; Tyler made one additional appearance in 1949); Sauk Centre (ninth; * in 1975, ’76, 2007, and ’13); Ada-Borup (third under this name; * in 2005; Ada made four additional appearances between 1951 and 1960); and Nova Classical Academy (first).

The Class AA schools participating this year (including number of appearances and * starred performance years) are: Duluth East (first); Robbinsdale Cooper (fifth; * in *1972); New Prague (fourth; * in 1982); Eastview, Apple Valley (10th; * in 1998, 2002, ’03, ’07, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, and ’13); Buffalo (16th; * in 1973, ’82, ’86, ’97, 2002, and ’05); Little Falls (seventh; * in 1985 and ’89); Irondale (first); and Eagan (19th; * in 1991, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, 2000, ’01, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12).

            Here is the schedule of the performances:

Class AA — Thursday, Feb. 13
Section	School	Play	Time
2	New Prague	Around the World in 80 Days in Under 35 Minutes by Steve Schroer	9:15
7	Duluth East	My Client Curley by Norman Corwin	10:00
1	Eastview, Apple Valley	Frozen by Bryony Lavery	11:00
5	Buffalo	The Triangle Factory Fire Project by Christopher Piehler & Scott Alan Davis	11:45
3	Eagan	The Diviners by Jim Leonard, Jr.	1:30
8	Little Falls	Wiley and the Hairy Man by Jack Stokes	2:15
6	Robbinsdale Cooper	La Dispute by Marivaux, Translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker	3:15
4	Irondale, New Brighton	The Actor’s Nightmare by Christopher Durang	4:00
Class A — Friday, Feb. 14
Section	School	Play	Time
4	Nova Classical Academy, St. Paul	Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll	9:15
7	East Central (Sandstone/Askov)	And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson by Jim Leonard, Jr.	10:00
1	Rushford-Peterson	Anti-Play by Forrest Musselman	11:00
5	Sauk Centre	I Never Saw Another Butterfly by Celeste Raspanti	11:45
3	Russell-Tyler-Ruthton	Between the Lines by Dennis Bush	1:30
8	Ada-Borup	Wiley and the Hair Man by Jack Stokes	2:15
6	Park Rapids Area	FREAK by Angela Hill	3:15
2	Belle Plaine	The Drowsy Professor by B. Dwayne Craft	4:00

            The public is invited to attend the 2014 Minnesota State High School League One Act Play Festival. Admission is $10.00 per four-play session for students and adults, and there are two sessions per day. A daily pass is available for $15.00 per day.

            O’Shaughnessy Auditorium is located at 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul.