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Drama students off to provincial festival

BCHS drama department earned spot by winning Best Play for their adaption of a murder mystery
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The Barrhead Composite High School Drama qualified for the provincial high school drama festival in Red Deer by winning one of two Best Play Awards at the 2W Drama Festival at R.F. Staples in Westlock in late April for their rendition of The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno. Pictured from left are Parker Gueth (playing Mortimer), Eli Palylyk (playing Professor Beasly) and Kaylea Hillmer (Madam Isis).

BARRHEAD - For the first time in Barrhead Composite High School's (BCHS) history, the drama department has qualified for the provincial high school drama festival.

BCHS drama students qualified for the festival by winning one of two Best Play Awards at the 2W Drama Festival at R.F. Staples in Westlock in late April for their rendition of The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno.

The 2W Zone includes schools northwest of Edmonton from communities such as Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Westlock, Edson, Whitecourt and Hinton. The provincial high school drama festival took place in Red Deer from May 12-14.

Drama teacher Peter Bonnema said they have never won the Best Play Award before. 

"So we were a little taken back by it," he said. "I am just so proud of my students. They worked so hard, and it is nice to see them rewarded."

Bonnema said they started preparing for the play at the start of the school year.

"The kids wanted to do a murder mystery after watching (Clue: The Movie) on Netflix," he said, adding he was surprised at their selection, noting it first debuted in 1985. "It's weird, when Netflix has an old movie advertising it at the top of their screen, kids see it." 

The idea of the play is that Mr. Uno invites six guests to his dark and mysterious mansion one stormy night for dinner. Throughout the evening, Mr. Uno meets his demise many times over, and his guests also end up dying mysteriously one by one. 

The surviving guests are tasked with unveiling who the murderer is before it is too late.

Bonnema noted the actors and crew of the play are students from his Drama 10, 20 and 30 classes.

"The way I do plays at the high school level is that anyone who signs up for the class gets to be in the play and give everyone a chance to perform their role," he said. 

For festivals, Bonnema said, schools tend to go with smaller productions where they can go through the audition process and select the top two or three performers.

"I was really happy that our play stood out among the students that signed up for the class," he said. "We had the largest, longest and most complex play."

Bonnema said the last two years and the pandemic have been difficult for him as a teacher as well as the students.

"We've had some big obstacles to overcome," he said. "We ended up putting on a radio play and doing an audio recording to keep students distanced."

When public health restrictions eased to the point where schools were once again able to put on stage productions, there were still several limitations on who could attend. The drama department hosted a performance for the school, with friends and relatives only being able to watch via an online video.

Recalling the old stage saying "the show must go on" and to safeguard against COVID-19 or other illnesses potentially side-tracking the production, he said they had a "double cast" with every role shared with another actor.

"That way if someone got sick or had to isolate, someone could swoop in, and take over the role," he said.

And Bonnema said they are lucky they had the second cast waiting in the wings, as over the year, several actors were sidelined for varying amounts of time.

When not performing, the members of the second cast take positions behind the scenes as stagehands.

In addition to receiving Best Play, Bonnema noted that the entire cast received a honourable mention for makeup, especially Lexus Uden. Also receiving honourable mentions were Levi Ballard for lighting and Megan Miller, Nathan Paquin, Mellinda Calliou, and Levi Ballard (for the second time) for set design. The festival also recognized Anthony Olson for his performance as General Spragmorton.

Although the details have not been finalized, the public will have an opportunity to see the production themselves, with performances starting sometime after the May long weekend.

 

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com

 


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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