(Note: At publication time, the RMHS Drama Club has moved to the finals of the MTGE One-Act Play Festival. This article deals with their preparations for the semi-finals.)
The Reading Memorial High School Drama Club moved onto the semi-finals of the Massachusetts Theater Education Guild One-Act Play Festival for the third time in a row.
Reading has advanced past the preliminary round of the METG competition. On Saturday, March 14 they will present their play, “Saint Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” in the semi-finals at Maria Weston Chapman Middle School in Weymouth, MA. The drama club hopes to secure a spot, and represent Reading in the METG finals.
Reading had a set plan going into the rehearsal process for the preliminary round. They really focused on adapting the short story into a full play that had meaning to everyone in the audience.
Caitlin Honer (‘28) noted, “So for the rehearsal process, at the beginning, it was a lot of workshopping and we would work together in groups to think about what aspects of the story we wanted to make sure got in the final play, who did we think these characters were, what were our goals in what we wanted to express to the audience, what we wanted to comment about society and history.”
Thea Cunha (‘27) explained more about preparing for METG finals. “Semis is going to have seven shows, it looks like, and typically you get assigned to schools that are farther and farther away. So we’re going to be in Weymouth. And that’s like an hour away. But, we’re excited. Next week, we’re going to start rehearsals, looking at notes from judges, seeing how we can make it even tighter.”
Honer added, “It’s such an exciting process, because it’s an opportunity to share this work with a ton of other kids my age and see what they did. And obviously it was nerve wracking because you’re up on the stage and you’re in front of people who are judging you and writing comments and you’re in front of your peers who are trying to figure out what you’re doing at the same time as you’re trying to figure out what you’re doing,”
Jason Walsh (‘26) shared, “We’re really excited to perform on a new stage, but that’s really a lot of the challenge of performing somewhere unexpected, but there’s so many pros, like meeting all the new people, seeing different shows and interacting with other theater communities.”
The RMHS drama team is hoping to shine in the semi-final round, and advance to the finals. The finals will be held in Boston over a three-day period. You can support them by buying tickets on the METG website and scroll to “The Theater at Maria Weston Chapman.”
