A Day of Drama

Saugus High School will host the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival on March 1; Saugus High will be among eight student entries

The Saugus High School Drama Club (SHSDC) and Director Nicholas Raponi are gearing up to host a preliminary round of the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s High School Drama Festival in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium at Saugus Middle High School on Saturday, March 1. The METG Festival is a statewide, multi-round competition that occurs throughout March at different schools around the state.

SHSDC will be welcoming students from Boston Latin High School, North Reading High School, Salem High School, Swampscott High School, Manchester Essex Regional High School, Clark School and Lynn English High School, who along with Saugus High School will perform their 40 minute shows in a jam-packed day of theatre starting at 9:00 a.m.! Four winners from each preliminary round will advance to the semifinals on March 15. All participating schools will begin arriving at Saugus High School at around 7:30 a.m. with their costumes, props and scenery – ready to entertain.

The SHSDC will have two showings of their entry into the festival – “Woyzeck (Re-Imagined)” – originally written by Georg Buchner, adapted by assistant director Kyle Gregory. A preview show will be on Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium; $5 students and $10 adults. Your second opportunity is on the day of the festival with the performance slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.; $10 gains you entry to the entire festival to view all eight shows.

“Woyzeck,” originally written in 1836, follows Woyzeck, an army barber who endures psychological humiliation by his captain and painful physical experimentation by his doctor to make extra money for Marie, his common-law wife, and their child. Woyzeck is jealous of Marie’s affair with a drum major. Filled with rage, he explodes into violence as he experiences a series of flashbacks and apocalyptic visions and hallucinations. Büchner based Woyzeck on an account of an actual murder case in which a soldier killed his mistress in a jealous frenzy and was subsequently the object of medical controversy regarding his sanity. This play is widely studied by theatre scholars as its fragmented and unfinished nature combines elements of expressionism and naturalism as we see a critique of social injustice and the exploitation of the poor.

Please join us as we explore the descent into madness of a man pushed to the brink by societal pressures and abuse. We are very excited to bring this daring, edgy and rarely produced play to life!

Tickets can be purchased in advance, or with CASH at the door! https://metg.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F13224

  Editor’s Note: Nicholas V. Raponi is the Theatre Teacher and Drama Club Director at Saugus High School.