B12 Features
The
C hronicle
chronicle.hw.com
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May 26, 2010
taking center stage Writing, performing, or singing, students took the main roles in the annual Playwrights Festival
By Claire Hong
This was the most fun of all the theater productions.”
—Elana Fruchtman ‘10
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A boy runs down an aisle in Rugby Theatre towards the stage. His clothes are tattered, and he has dirt smeared over his face and body. He is the only one on stage, and he is crying. The boy was Ben Platt ’11, play the role of a survivor in the postapocalypto play “What the Thunder Said.” The play was written by Eli Petzold ’10 and directed by Susanna Wolk ’10. The plays then went through an extensive editing process with a mentor of the writer’s choice, which consisted of teachers, professional writers, actors, directors and dramaturges. Along with their own individual mentors, Performing Arts teacher Christopher Moore aided students throughout the entire process. He was also the producer for the Playwrights Festival. Only 10 were selected to appear in the Playwrights Festival. All plays were written and acted by students, and some even had student directors. The festival ran from May 20 through May 23. The first play presented on the opening night was Ava Kofman’s ’10 “Hunter in the Snow.” It was directed by Graham Parkes ’10, who had also written a play for the festival, “The Crowdpleaser.” Rebecca Hutman ’12, who starred in Kelsey Woo’s ’11 “The ABC’s of Growing Up,” said, “I really enjoyed doing student written plays, and our writer, Kelsey, was especially involved which made the experience even more unique. Whenever you read a book or a play you always wish you could get inside the writer’s head a little and understand it from their perspective, so it was great to be able to have that communication and see how she had envisioned the show.” Of the 10 plays that were picked, only two were written by sophomores, Wyatt Kroopf ’12 and Leland Frankel ’12. Jacob Axelrad’s ’10 play, “The Sky’s the Limit,” won the Leon C. Fan Memorial Award. “It’s incredible to be honored with this award. It means so much to be recognized by the Performing Arts Department, and I’m so grateful to the Fan family. Playwriting is something that I love to do and to be encouraged by this award is absolutely amazing,” he said.
photos by Chloe Lister/ Chronicle
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being in one acts was completely new and out of my comfort zone and ended up being so rewarding.”
—Charlie Mischer ‘10
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A student run affair: (1) Elana Fruchtman ’10 plays the last woman on Earth. (2) Brooke Levin ’12 and Sam Sobel ’11 share a passionate kiss. (3) Chase Morgan ’10 braids Hallie Brookman’s ’12 hair. (4) Hank Doughan ’12 performs with the Scene Monkeys. (5) Eli Petzold ’10 and Jack Petock ’11 shock Gabrielle Kuhn ’12.
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