Luxemburg-Casco advances to final round of theater competition

LUXEMBURG-CASCO – Luxemburg-Casco High School’s theater department recently competed in the annual, state-wide One-Act Competition, where they performed “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong.” The school took home a total of seven awards.

In the competition, schools pick the play of their choice to set up, perform and take down inside 40 minutes. Schools then present their plays for judges at district and sectional competitions.

Schools are eliminated in each round of competition, but those which advance to the state level are invited to perform in the annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival. During the two-day competition, each qualifying school performs for a panel of judges who evaluate the production and consider awarding additional honors.

The 40-minute timer for each performance begins with a clear stage. Students must then load in all of their set and equipment to the stage and present their production. After the last line, everything must be cleared to leave a bare stage before the 40 minutes are up.

Students spend three months practicing and performing their one-act play, and much like other extracurriculars, must sign a code of conduct which stipulates the rules of their continued participation. Assistant Director Mary Fameree said one of the first things she emphasizes to the cast and crew is the need for kindness between them.

“I tell them, ‘For the next three months, this is going to be your family. Don’t be judgmental. Don’t bully.’”

Director Kate Kopkey shares a similar philosophy.

“Our director always says that every encounter is an audition. So how you act when you’re sitting in the audience, or you’re backstage or you’re just sitting around listening to critiques, every encounter is an audition,” Fameree said. “She reminds the kids that, you know, you can be fabulous, but if you’re making fun of somebody that’s performing on the stage and you’re in the audience or on social media, maybe the role isn’t for you.”

Fameree said L-C’s choice in play was unique in that many other schools typically perform moody or depressing pieces, and she was thrilled to see judges and audiences alike laughing along with the comedy of “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong.”

Despite budget constraints compared to larger schools in the competition, L-C won several awards at the state level, including acting and technical awards.

“One of the strongholds [in the competition] every year is Appleton North, who has a phenomenal budget for their one-act play. And ours is, if we’re lucky, we have $500,” Fameree said.

So it was a major point of pride when L-C won a Critic’s Choice award, which Appleton North High School has won more than 20 years in a row.

Volunteer work from teachers and members of the theater department played a large role in making the play itself possible, especially with a limited budget.

One hurdle the school faced was transportation.

“We couldn’t find a bus driver or a bus from the school because they had to do their bus routes, too. So when we went to stage, we had to take two school vans. Myself and another one of the teachers drove the kids in the van, and Kopkey drove her husband’s truck with a Uhaul, with our set in,” Fameree said.

In “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong,” the set appears to collapse halfway through the show. This presented another challenge for L-C, as it needed to come together and fall apart several times throughout the competition. However, thanks to hard work from the students and community volunteers, the group was able to complete a set that could be propped up and disassembled with relative ease.

While both the cast and crew are always necessary for a successful show, Fameree said the technical crew was especially vital to this play because the set undergoes so many changes during its runtime.

Luxemburg-Casco first competed at the regional level on Oct. 15 in Ashwaubenon, where they qualified to advance to sectionals. They performed again on Nov. 6 in Oconto Falls, earning themselves a place in the state competition at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival. The school gave their final performance on Nov. 20, where they won four group-wide awards: Outstanding Technical Theater, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Director and Critic’s Choice. Three students also won individual acting awards: Danica Gagne, Ariel VanLangedon and Brianna Spude, leaving L-C with a total of seven awards.

While the logistics of performing in the competition were more complicated for L-C than most other schools, Fameree expressed great pride in her students.
“The kids, they just grew so much throughout this whole thing,” Fameree said. “It’s rewarding to see the kids do that and to watch them unfold, and be able to put on a production like that.”