METG Reflection

At the festival, our production of Twelfth Night was met with the laughter and praise of the Fayerweather community, and also the attendees of Drama Festival. We felt lucky that we were able to perform as the second show of the day. Our show ran within the time constraints, and our set-up and break-down went smoothly. (Shh! We don’t have to talk about the moment one of our set pieces fell during the break-down.) After we left the stage, we got to sit back, relax, and enjoy a day filled with performances. We particularly enjoyed Beware the Jabberwock. It featured a beautiful English garden inspired scenic design, exciting lighting elements, and seamless ensemble acting moments. 

Towards the end of the day, we had fruitful discussions about what we witnessed. We wrote down some questions to ask of the different productions, and we crafted a Student Recognition Award so that we could later honor one of the other schools. After some pizza and socializing, we entered a Q&A session. During that session our students had the opportunity to respond to questions from the other schools. They asked us about our set pieces (the neon sign, the Cadillac) and about why we chose to set the play in the 1950s. Fayerweather kids represented themselves admirably! Our students also thought critically about how other schools and directors responded to the questions asked of them. 

The grand finale of our experience was the Award Ceremony. Each school is adjudicated by the two judges assigned to the festival site. They judge each show based off of a rubric and then tally the points to see what level medal each school will receive. We earned enough points for a Silver Medal! Our highest scoring categories were in: Actor Physicality, Pacing & Energy, Communication & Focus, Staging Compositions & Blocking, and Technical Elements. We also won the coveted Stage Manager’s Award. The Technical Director/Stage Manager at each festival site selects one school that distributes characteristics of professionalism, respectfulness, kindness, and resiliency. Susan, our student stage manager, got to receive the award on our behalf! We received three All Star Company Awards for Acting! Arden as Feste, Max as Sir Toby, and Markham as Sir Andrew. Our whole company was thrilled to also receive an award for Excellence in Scenic Design. Stan, Ronia, Susan, Marion, and Pigeon accepted this award. While they were a part of the design team, many hands were involved in the creation of this incredible set. It was truly a big win for our whole ensemble and community.

On the bus ride home, we experienced waves of emotion. Joy, exhaustion, relief, disappointment, pride, and everything in between. I feel so fortunate to have brought this group of kids on this journey. They worked hard and it paid off. I know they feel proud of themselves – deservedly so! I’m just not sure if they can imagine how proud we are of them. I hope we can do it all again next year.