Piedmont Play Wins State

Piedmont Academy’s One-Act Play cast and crew captured the GISA State AA One-Act Play championship on November 17 at the competition held at Darton College in Albany.

The group received two first place rankings and one second place ranking from the three judges, who gave the group a total score of 281 out of 300, more than seven ranking points and more than 20 points higher in overall score than the second place play from Valwood School of Hahira, who had ranks totaling 11, and an overall score of 260.

This championship is the school’s first in the one-act play competition. The school earned the event’s highest award in 2007 with a “superior” ranking and an outstanding performance award for the entire cast, when the GISA tried the festival format for the one-act play event for a two-year period. The school organization has since gone back to a competition format, giving trophies to the champion and two runners-up.

The state competition also featured performances of students from Brentwood School, Edmund Burke Academy, Harvester Christian Academy, The Heritage School, Robert Toombs Christian Academy, Southwest Georgia Academy.

This year the students of Piedmont’s troupe performed Ed Monk’s The Cards of Fate, a dark comedy about a game show where contestants win fabulous prizes and control the destinies of unsuspecting innocents.
{{more}}

Seniors Mary Ashlynn Dennis and Matthew O’Brien played the lead roles of “Buffy Youbetcha,” the game show hostess and “Cinnamon,” the game show announcer. At state competition, Miss Dennis received an Honorable Mention, and Mr. O’Brien received an Outstanding Performance Award, an honor which is given only to five students out of the whole group of students performing for the day.
The judges also named junior Samuel McGinnis as an Honorable Mention at state competition for his portrayal of the game show contestant, “Nick Kowslowski.” Another Honorable Mention in the Piedmont troupe went to junior Davis Kimball for his portrayals of “Bob” and “Mr. Simmons.”

Though not mentioned specifically during the awards ceremony, the judges had high praise for the entire ensemble which included senior Andie Lewis as “Nurse,” and juniors Amy Anuszczyk as “Alice Walker,” and Jeremy Wood as “Bob’s friend” and “Larry Parks.”
Sophomore cast members also gave strong performances in the following roles: Lacy Adamson as “Stage Model,” Carley Cain as “Ted the booth voice” and as “Otto,” Audrey Cleary as “Mrs. Simmons,” Clare Maloney as “Bambi,” Samantha Ramsdell as “Susan Zimmerman,” and Lucy Strickland as “Mrs. Zimmerman.”

Emmie Kelly portrayed “Dr. Wilson, the principal,” Savannah McGinnis filled the role of “Beth,” and Katie Odegaard performed the role of “Punk.” These ladies are members of the freshmen class and are in their second year of participating in the one-act play.
Filling out the cast were two eighth graders, who joined one-act play for the first time, Abby Hyde and Marissa Mooneyham in the roles of “Grad One, Anne Marie Young” and “Grad Two, Rebecca Jean Zukowski,” respectively.

Also winning praise for their non-speaking roles were the crew members who move and arrange the set before the play is performed. They also serve as the game show crew who move props on and off stage during the performance, and they judges were most impressed how they moved set pieces and props without detracting from the actors on stage.

Leading the crew was senior Jessie Wagnon as the make-up artist. Sophomore Kacy Swart and eighth grader Lena Boyd served as the prop masters and stage crew for the side scenes. Rounding out the stage crew was eighth grader Gabriel Courtman who also served as the understudy for “Nick Kowslowski.”
The two technical crew members were senior Jordana Pope who ran the sound board and freshman Gabe Hestad who ran lights for this year’s production.

The judges praised the excellent characterizations of every person on stage and loved the interplay between the characters. They loved the pacing of the performance which the judges say is lively starting with the set up and continuing throughout the production up until the very end.

The group earned similar praise and comments from the judges when they competed at the Region 1AA competition on November 10, at Augusta Preparatory Day School in Augusta. Piedmont earned its eighth region one-act championship in the school’s history, with back to back wins in 2009 and 2010.

Region judges named Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Kimball as two of the five recipients of Outstanding Performance awards for Region 1AA, and Piedmont beat out performances from Brentwood School, Briarwood Academy, Central Fellowship Christian Academy, Covenant Academy, Gatewood School, and Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School, to claim the region title.

Piedmont teacher and literary coordinator Bobbi Sauls was the director of this play. Assisting with various aspects of the production was Piedmont teacher and Fine Arts officer Suzanne Arena.
Offering their support to the students on the day of state competition were parents Chris and Gretchen Cain, Scott and Pam Dennis, Caren O’Brien, David Odegaard, and David Strickland, as well as sibling Drew Odegaard. Piedmont staff member Alison Hildebrandt provided logistical support as the group’s bus driver, and she was accompanied by her daughter Anne Marie. The group was also supported by school headmaster Tony Tanner and his wife Lynn who made the trip to Albany.

Former headmaster Johnny Smith drove the bus to region competition, and teacher Susan Smith, parent Lori Wagnon, and alumnus Micah Tyler also accompanied the group to Augusta.

The Monticello community had an opportunity to view this award-winning production at the Annual Dessert Theatre on Saturday, November 13, at the school’s gymnasium. The cast and crew will give one final performance for the middle and high school student body on Friday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m.