Drama Wins Big with “Princess Party Smackdown”
Hingham High Drama Club won the preliminary round at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild Competition last weekend.
March 27, 2022
Over the weekend of the 19th and 20th, Hingham High Drama participated in the annual Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) festival, bringing home a victory in the preliminary round. They will be moving on to regional competition, set to take place the weekend of April 2nd and 3rd
Competing against five other high schools, Hingham won with their performance of “Princess Party Smackdown,” a one-act comedy written by Don Zolidis. The play follows Olivia (Ava Eilson ‘22) at her extravagant seventh birthday orchestrated by her mother (Olivia Pace ‘23), who hires five different princesses and an alien as entertainers. As the story continues, Olivia’s outrageous demands result in bloody noses, animal sacrifice, and likely, an alien takeover of the planet.
Olivia Pace shares with the Harborlight that she loved performing, particularly enjoying the entertaining scenes in which she gets to film the drama with an iPad, and using a prop clipboard that read “Boss Mama.” She shared that “It was really fun to go out in Festie and be surrounded by all these other drama kids that were celebrating the show and were really excited to see it. It meant a lot to go back on stage with a really supportive cast and crew.”
Junior Zoe Epstein, who played the role of Bunny, explained that “It was an energizing and fun environment because everyone was there to appreciate drama. Everyone was supportive and wanted you to do well.” Lily Andrey, who played Snow White, agreed that “Even though you were competing with people, nobody wanted you to fail.” When asked about the experience of the play as a whole, Zoe summarized it as “scripted chaos.”
An astounding feat, Hingham came home with not only first overall for the Preliminary Round, but with several individual awards. Castmembers Leah May, Lily Andrey, Bridget Sandler and Tim Bevens received recognition for their roles as Fairy, Snow White, Cinderella, and Lonestar, respectively. The costume crew also received recognition for their contributions; technical awards went to Thomas Parker, Lauren Davis, Abi Bennion, Maddie Griswold, Tommy Parker and Max Wanty.
Beaming faces and congratulations were doled following the award ceremony. In the center of the first row, a black covering marks a reserved seat for Anna Quinlivan ‘22, whose memory is carried by each of the actors and crewmates.
Earlier in the week, the group performed a preview at the High School, giving the Hingham community a taste of the impressive performance that they will now take to regional competitions. Families, students, and teachers alike are encouraged to cheer on the drama club at the next level of competition the first weekend of April at Franklin High School.
