Central One Act Play Team
2 A West State Champs Again
Teamwork and dogged dedication were attributed to helping Central’s team bring
home its second consecutive state title. The team also won first place at the
Conference 40 Festival and second place at the Region 2A West Festival. Madison
Chandler and Madison Lawson also both earned Conference 40 outstanding actor
awards, and Chandler won a Region 2A outstanding actor award.
Twelve new students joined one-act this year, and Director and Coach Jan
Thompson wrote via email Wednesday that it took time to forge a strong bond. “At
one practice, it just clicked and they worked hardcore as a team from that point
on,” she wrote. “I’m so proud of them. It was great to see their hard work pay off
with a big win.”
Maggie Henry, a junior on the team, also spoke to these early season challenges. “I
think what really was different about this one-act season was that it didn’t start off
the way it did the other two years I was in it,” she explained. “The team had some
difficulties starting off, but in the end everything came together.”
Central chose “The Yellow Boat” by David Saar after reading two other plays, and
Thompson wrote, “the team loved the story and the message. It is a true story
about a little boy (Benjamin), the author’s son, who contracted HIV in the (19)80s
due to blood transfusions.” Benjamin died at age eight, but “was a gifted artist and
used his drawings to help him and others deal with his illness,” she added. The team
Skyped with the author for better insight into Saar’s son’s illness and how Benjamin
helped others cope with his illness. Thompson wrote that Central even acquired
Benjamin’s actual drawings to use in its performance.
Chris Basham, a local physician and the father of team member Sam Basham, also
educated the team about “the early days of HIV and helped the team understand
the technical aspects of the play,” she noted. “It’s a powerful story and one that’s
hard to tell,” she continued. “This team worked hard to get it right.”
Madison Lawson also spoke about the long hours it took to perfect Benjamin’s tale,
noting the team was “blessed to have come across the opportunity to share such
an incredible and touching story.” Without the team’s “amazing supporters and
coaches we would not have been able to make it this far,” she said.
Central’s 2016-17 one-act drama team cast and crew includes: Madison Chandler,
Noah Hall, Autumn Bolling, Madison Lawson, Dylan Reeves-Thacker, Zack Jackson,
Sam Basham, Maggie Henry, Madi Fields, Caylan Cox, Emma Snodgrass, Mary
Stuedemann, Ryan Collins, Gracie Hall, Sagan Holbrook, Sydney Phillips, Reagan
Dotson, Emily Mullins, Hailey Polly, Haley Ricketts, Kayleigh McNew, Taylor
Sanders, Nicole Aguirre and Emma Chandler, coach/director Jan Thompson,
assistant director Stephanie Cooperstein and choreographer Elaine Sheldon.
Twin One Act titles for two Wise County school
STEPHEN IGO • DEC 10, 2016
This is clearly a case of Deja vu all over again, squared, for a pair of top notch
theatre teams at two Wise County high schools.
Central High School's One Act Team brought the Virginia High School League's 2A
championship back from state title competition in Charlottesville on Tuesday, and
Eastside High School's One Act Team did the same in the VHSL 1A division.
If that sounds familiar, it's because it is. Last year the two schools' One Act Teams
achieved the very same feat. For Eastside, it's actually a three-peat, now state 1A
One Act champs three years running. Central has won state titles in prior years as
well, and now two years straight.
To have two high schools in the same county bring home state titles the same year
is quite an achievement. To have those same two schools do that two years in a
row is nothing short of mind blowing.
"There were a lot of our parents there. The place was packed. You are never sure
who is going to win. The plays (of all competing One Act schools that made it to the
state championship level) are good. They're all very, very good!" said Jan
Thompson, Central's One Act, forensics and 9 O’clock Club volunteer coach.
"This was our 13th straight trip to Charlottesville to the states and our first backto-back championship. We have previous championships, but this is our first two
years in a row," she said. "So we were ecstatic. You work for it but you never quite
expect it, so it was quite joyful."
Coached by Shane Burke, Eastside's One Act Team is in a three-peat league of its
own.
"One Act is about making friends, being together, standing up for one another,"
said Eastside student and One Act member Austin Mullins. "It has taught me not to
give up and to keep pushing myself." One of his fellow students and actors,
Elizabeth Hall, said the close bond forged by all participating students lays the
foundation for state championships.
"One Act has connected us all in a way that no other activity can," she said. "We
are not a team. We are a family." Jillian Hall concurs.
"There's no one sitting on the bench in One Act," said Jillian. "Everyone is involved
and plays a crucial role in everything we do."
Elizabeth Mann and Kailey Kyle composed and sent a joint comment on their
Eastside One Act experiences.
"One Act is an experience. Winning isn't everything — it's awesome, it's fun, but
it's not why we are there," wrote Mann and Kyle. "You are always completely
intrigued and captivated by one another on stage. You can grow emotionally and
you can learn humility and it teaches you to reflect on your own actions."
In addition to the team 1A state title, Eastside One Act players brought home some
individual honors as well. Sophomore Emma Fleming and freshman Jillian Hall
received outstanding actor awards. Central seniors Madison Lawson and Madison
Chandler also brought home individual acting awards along with the team 2A
championship.
Central's One Act play, a true story penned by the father of a son who died at age
8 from HIV as a result of tainted blood transfusions to treat hemophilia, is “The
Yellow Boat” by David Saar. Central worked directly with Saar to tackle the
challenge of bringing Benjamin’s story to the stage, and the team was able to
secure Benjamin's actual drawings to use in the performance.
"It's a powerful story and one that's hard to tell," Thompson said of her Central
team's challenge that involved heartrending a personal story. "This team worked
hard to get it right. One of the critiques they received at state competition was that
the actors, even though they are teenagers, were able to tell Benjamin's story
through the eyes of his parents."
Eastside's drama choice was equally daunting. “The Amish Project” by Jessica
Dickey was chosen "because of its powerful, thought provoking message" based on
tragic events in 2006 when a man entered a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Nickel
Mines, Pa., opened fire and fatally wounded five girls and severely wounded five
others.
The reaction of the Amish community astonished the nation. The Amish community
provided the gunman's spouse with love and support and forgiveness for the
gunman, who committed suicide.
"Reportedly, there were more Amish people at the gunman's funeral than nonAmish," Burke said of his team’s challenge. "The play is all about the redeeming
grace of the Amish and how the world reacted to the beauty of their forgiveness."
"This Amish community deserves to have their story told, and I'm so glad we had
the opportunity to do that," said Eastside One Act player Emma Fleming.
Central's Thompson said there was a logo at state students could put on their shirts
that read, "All it takes is all you've got!"
"Every team member gave it their all and it paid off," she said. "The formula is the
same every year: Pick a play with a good story and work hard to tell it. Shows are
judged on acting, direction and ensemble effect, but you never know what judges
will like and how your show will be perceived."
It is now obvious how the judges perceived the performances of Central and
Eastside One Act teams, both bringing home the gold in their respective divisions,
achievements that are twice (Central) and thrice (Eastside) straight no less, and well
deserving of a standing ovation from the Wise County Proud home crowd.
Central One Act Team members include Director/Coach Thompson, Assistant
Director Stephanie Cooperstein and Choreographer Elaine Sheldon; student
actors/crew Madison Chandler, Madison Lawson, Dylan Reeves-Thacker, Emma
Snodgrass, Autumn Bolling, Gracie Hall, Caylan Cox, Reagan Dotson, Ryan Collins,
Maggie Henry, Nicole Aguirre, Sam Basham, Emma Chandler, Emily Mullins, Hailey
Polly, Haley Ricketts, Sagan Holbrook, Zack Jackson; student tech crew Noah Hall
and Mary Stuedemann; and student backstage crew Madi Fields, Taylor Sanders
and Kayleigh McNew.
Central's One Act Team will perform “The Yellow Boat” one last time at 11 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 at The Barter Theatre in Abingdon. Tickets are $10 and can be
purchased from Thompson or any member of the team at Central High School or at
the door.