Subsections this Saturday
After three months of preparation and practice, the NRHEG contest one act play “Ignoble Death” will be taking part in subsection competition on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at an all-day event at Medford High School. The performance is scheduled in the day’s final time slot: 2:50 p.m., just prior to awards.
The story, set in a 1920s train station, centers around the sudden disappearance of socialite Frank Noble from a train. Investigations are indeterminate: Did he fall? Was he pushed? Members of the highly-placed Noble and Purser families were on the train for the sake of making plans and arrangements for the upcoming wedding between Frank and the oldest Purser daughter, Francine.
Forced to stay in the train station as the investigation proceeds, various travelers reveal their stories and their characters as they converse and interact.
The cast gave its first public performance during a Gopher Conference One Act Play Festival which took place last Saturday at WEM.
“Ignoble Death” and a second play, “Clemson Bartholomew,” will be performed for the public on the NRHEG stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. Play directors are NRHEG teachers Solveig Sundblad and Deb Bently.
“I’m really proud of what our students are accomplishing,” observes Sundblad. “It’s quite an experience to work alongside these creative folks as they develop their characters, learn their lines, and incorporate all the final touches that make the story real.”
Shelby Johnston, a senior who plays the pivotal character of Francine in the contest play, has been active in theater for some time, having taken part in every NRHEG production for the past 5 years. “I like the thrill of becoming a different person,” she comments. “It’s sort of like wearing someone else’s personality for a while.”
Since Francine is a conceited, self-absorbed rich woman, Johnston observes, “I used to like watching the show Mean Girls. Now I actually get
to be a mean girl.”
Tatum Smith Vulcan is in her first
NRHEG One Act play, although she was part of last spring’s schoolwide production The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Prior to that, her most recent experience had been the Prairie Fire Theater shows often put together at the elementary school. Smith Vulcan, a senior, is headed to Black Hills State University in South Dakota next fall. “They have a really good theater program,” she says, “and I realized I want to be a part of it if I can.So I thought I would get an early start.” Smith Vulcan comments that she is grateful to work with NRHEG’s more experienced performers. “They’ve been doing this for a long time,” she says. “I am really learning from them.” Smith Vulcan enjoys her role as the secret drinker Celia Hintermeyer, mother to Frank and to his younger brother, Thomas. The character injects many humorous elements into the play. “I really enjoy hearing people laugh,” she says.
Anton Domeier plays the role of Thomas Noble, forced to deal with the aftermath of Frank’s disappearance–including the erratic behavior of his mother, unwilling to separate from her flask despite prohibition, and the calculated actions of Francine. Domeier has been active in the NRHEG drama program since middle school and has taken part in 5 productions. He says he appreciates that being in plays improves his
public speaking and communication skills. In the case of “Ignoble Death,” he observes that his character is roughed up a few times during the action of the play. “I like getting beaten up,” he jokes. “That is, I like working to make the stage fights seem real.”
Also a longstanding drama participant, senior Olivia Kofstad has been in 10 NRHEG productions. A fellow mean girl, Kofstad’s character, Felicity, has helped with a plan to get Francine’s forbidden boyfriend out of jail. Kofstad says that, in the case of “Ignoble Death” she enjoys helping reveal the dark side of Francine’s character as the action of the play develops.
Senior Alexus Chambers, as Francine’s younger sister Melanie, plays a peacekeeping character who tries to provide support to those around her, perhaps especially to Thomas, whose hard-drinking mother’s behavior becomes less and less manageable–and harder to conceal–as the action of the story continues. “It’s fun to see the way everything has come together,” says Chambers. “Memorizing our lines, finding our costumes, getting all the details down: it’s exciting to see it all coming to a climax.”
Also performing in “Ignoble Death” are Jordis Kruger-Diaz, Addison Loken, Pierce Anderson, Eden Eads, exchange student Tiara Zahra, Grace Starman, Olivia Wencl, Winter Pederson, Megan Miller, Madisyn Langfitt, and Joe Rosenquist. Rosenquist and Scarlett Chance are serving as crew for the play.