| Drama students capture top prize at Ohlone (04/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Åmy Seaman | |
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“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” chanted actors during the introduction of a Tom Stoppard’s comedic one-act interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Titled Dogg’s Troupe Hamlet, the play was one of Lowell’s entries in the Ohlone College Theatre Festival competition, which ran from April 4-5 at Ohlone College in Fremont, with a repeat performance at the Randall Museum last Wednesday. In the performance, juniors Dashiell Hillman, Dylan McHugh, Kristine Reyes and Maxwell Wallace, senior Rose Guthrie and sophomore Rose Johnson-Leiva portrayed an acting troupe of black-shirted, Elizabethan hat-donning actors satirizing Hamlet by playing multiple characters with deliberately misread lines and strange cues in a play within a play. Thirty-four Lowell students participated in the Ohlone competition, which included divisions for both classic and humorous recitations of monologues and two-person ensembles. I followed Reyes as she checked her props anxiously, preparing to board the bus to Fremont. The day had come for her long hours of preparation, skipped homework and late-night practices to pay off. Friday’s ride to Fremont was filled with nervous chatter. Some students rehearsed lines and ran through cues while others slept — or at least tried to. But the excited atmosphere did not last long, as English and drama teacher Teresa Bookwalter passed around a schedule and instructed students to circle their conflicting performances. “I was pretty paranoid about how I would get from Building Two to Building Six, which are both pretty far away from each other on the campus,” Reyes said. “I wanted to get there without dying and breathing too hard.” Upon arrival to the sunny college’s large campus, the group got into a circle and began a call-and-response exercise, introducing themselves to each other to warm up for the day ahead: “Hey, my name is Kristine, and I’m excited, so check me out!” Reyes yelled. The excited group then ran into the auditorium and joined a crowd of screaming students from the 45 participating high schools. Loud cheers rang out as each school’s name was announced. Seconds after the words “Lowell High School” left the toga-wearing festival coordinator’s lips, Lowell’s contestants stood up in their seats and proudly unveiled their shirts, branded with the number 17. “The shirts were an idea from a couple of years ago,” Bookwalter explained. “We were the 17th school to enter the competition 10 years ago, and so that will always be our number. The judges are not supposed to know which school has which number, so the judging will be fairer.” She added that the students were not allowed to wear their shirts anywhere “near a performance.” Tension grew as the ceremony concluded and participants were invited to roam around the campus. Reyes performed in Dogg’s Troupe first, acting as Ophelia. The judges watched, scoring the group on their use of stage space, their cues and general acting. I watched the characters change hats constantly and say key lines in unison, returning to perform an encore that was really a sped-up, 20-line reiteration of the play, accomplished through quick movements and constant running in place to speed up the pace. Reyes was unable to stay and watch the rest of her competition because of a conflict in her scheduling. She ran to face her next set of judges, who sat waiting impatiently for her to perform her second piece, a contemporary humorous monologue. “It was really nervewracking, coming in late and thinking I had missed my turn,” Reyes admitted. In Portrait of the Virgin Mary Feeding the Dinosaurs by Tim Goode, Reyes took on the title role, speaking about the common depictions of her character. The following morning, everyone met in front of Lowell at 7 a.m. sharp and waited for the not-yet existent bus to arrive, antsy to hear the names of the finalists, which were posted after everyone performed each of their pieces for a second time in front of other judges. The bus ride up was again full of loud and upbeat music, singing and shared pledges of victory over long-time rival Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. After arriving at the campus bright and early, Reyes raced off to prepare for her monologue’s second recitation, which she later admitted was not as successful. “I felt like I was offending Catholics in the room and the judges did not laugh as much,” Reyes said. When the 31 categories’ finalists were posted, some rejoiced and others sighed with resignation. Yet a feeling of accomplishment could be sensed all around. To celebrate completion of the first two rounds, Lowell’s students spontaneously started a dance party, attracting attention from their competitors, who joined in. “We’re known for playing loud music and creating an upbeat vibe everywhere at Ohlone,” Reyes said. While the finalists rehearsed their pieces one last time to polish them for the final round, Modest Mouse Monday, the school’s all-girl theater tech group, was off preparing for their version of the finals: the Tech Olympics, a series of timed events aimed at challenging the sometimes-forgotten theater tech crews that help make every drama production possible. Activities included timed sweeping of wooden blocks to clean the stage, dressing a fellow techie, moving props and focusing spotlights. In the end, Lowell took home first prize for the event. That wasn’t the only trophy they carried home. Dogg’s Troupe won first prize in the humorous one-act category, junior David Wiggins placed first with his monologue, “This Is Our Youth” by Kenneth Lonergan, while junior Karel Ebergen and sophomore Shira Kogan took home an award for their video, “Backstage Story.” Even those who did not win individual prizes helped the school to take home the festival’s largest prize, the Judges’ Sweepstakes Award. “The things that didn’t make it to finals are scored as well,” Bookwalter said. “Everyone’s scores contributed to the trophy we won, which was for the most points in the entire competition.” She encouraged other students to participate in next year’s theater festival. “Is there a team of four people out there who can do improvisation and likes having fun? See me,” she said. |
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to listen.
