Last Saturday Hingham High School Drama traveled to Bourne High School to perform in the annual Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild Drama Festival. HHS Drama put on a performance of April Fish, an old-fashioned comedy that follows an Italian-American family trying to swindle a plumber by faking the death of their father. The entire cast and crew has been working diligently for months perfecting the show, be it nailing one-liners and fight sequences, curating and setting up specific props, perfecting light and sound cues, creating the set, designing costumes, or brushing on stage makeup. It was quite a team effort, and certainly one I was glad to be a part of and watch transform. The show on Saturday certainly felt like one of our best, and Senior Drama Club President Stephanie Pett notes that, “All the love and support from the other schools allowed our cast to thrive and give the best possible performance of our show.”

The METG Drama Festival is an opportunity to present our own one act play, receive feedback on our own performance and production, and to witness other towns from across the state put on their best work as well. Junior Shea Kushnir found that, “It’s always amazing to see controversial issues come to life and touch lives.”. Hingham watched several plays last weekend, including Nauset Regional High School’s Dog Sees God, Sturgis Charter Public School East’s We Might Be Heroes, South Shore Charter Public School’s Check, Please!, Wareham High School’s Cloud Shapers, Sturgis Charter  Public School West’s A Wrinkle in Time, and Dartmouth High School’s 110th Street Station. Because of necessary preparation time, we were not able to see Bourne High School’s Buried Child.

At the end of every festival, several awards are received and three shows are chosen to move on to the Semi-Final Festival round.  Juniors Sarah DeCola and Justin Hull took home this year’s Stage Manager’s Award. All-Star Company Awards were then given out to specific cast and crew members from each show. Hingham’s Senior Matt Rice received an award for excellence in acting, and Senior Rose McDonald and her props crew received an award for excellence in prop design. Unfortunately this year, Hingham will not be moving on to the semi-final round of the METG Festival, but Nauset, South Shore Charter, and Bourne will all get the chance to perform again next Saturday. Festival, win or lose, has always been my favorite part of Drama Club, ever since my freshman year. I will certainly miss the early morning bus rides, foreign hallways, and amazing performances that are always a part of Festival, but I will cherish the memories I have made and the community I have been a part of over the past four years.