Playwriting Club Showcase This Friday

With Field Trip to BU on Thursday

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This year’s Playwriting Club members at a recent club meeting.

Ashley McCue ('23), Orbit Contributor

On March 31st at 7:00 PM, the RMHS Playwriting Club will host a showcase of eight ten-minute plays in the PAC, written and performed by RMHS students as the culminating activity for this year’s work. 

For the past ten years, the RMHS Playwriting Club has been run by English teacher Mrs. Richardson, who inherited the role from Mrs. Crosby.  The club was started by the Drama Club’s founder and former RMHS department head Mr. Endslow. Mrs. Richardson explained her passion for the club: “I love working with students to help them make art. This isn’t for a grade. Writing a play is optional and done in their spare time, which I know is limited. The students always surprise me with interesting, creative, and funny ideas.”

The club has changed from year to year, but has always culminated in some sort of showcase for the student’s work. Mrs. Richardson explained: “Mrs. Cunha and I collaborated to make Playwriting Club a performance showcase instead of cold reading of their scripts for their culminating activity.” Students submitted their final plays earlier this month and since then have been rehearsing for the upcoming showcase. The showcase will feature eight ten-minute plays written and performed by RMHS students. This year’s plays were written by Grace Brown (‘24), Astrid Puff (‘24), Hannah Record (‘24), Lauren Cook (‘24), Natalie Meiderios (‘25), Nina Taubman (‘26), Alana Doroquez (‘26), and Chloe Walker (‘24).

Brown wrote her first play for the club this year after participating as an actor in last year’s showcase. She explained the change: “I really like to write, but sometimes I don’t have the motivation to do it, but this gives me the motivation.” Brown also enjoys the club for another reason. “It is also a great opportunity to get to do fiction writing, which for me I don’t get to do very often in school.”

An important piece to the yearly routine of the RMHS Playwriting Club is participation in Boston University’s Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (BPT). Every March, the group holds a two-week high school playwriting festival called “New Noises” where schools from all over the state submit plays to be performed, read, and critiqued by Boston directors and actors. From each school the group picks two plays to be performed and one play for a cold reading and feedback session. This year, RMHS students Puff, Brown, and Record will be given the opportunity from BPT to see their plays performed and receive feedback on their work. The club will take a field trip to BPT on Thursday, March 30th to participate in the festival.

Friday night’s showcase is free to all spectators and will be held at the William Endslow Performing Arts Center at 7:00pm.