On March 1st, Malden High’s Play Production (Play Pro) team attended the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) Competitive Drama Festival, also referred to as “Fest.” The event featured many schools across Massachusetts and took place at Melrose High School, with schools competing against one another for the best play.
The Play Pro team finalized their rendition of “The Hope and Heartache Diner”, originally by Lindsay Price. Presented March 4th, the play was showcased in a retro diner, titled “Duke’s Diner”. The storyline begins as Felix Brown (junior Kail Boswell) introduces his last day at Duke’s, taking on the “full shift.” Originally owned by his grandparents, Felix Sr. (junior Matt Jason Chan), Betty (sophomore Alexia Maciel Lima), and Earl (senior Max Torres), Felix has mental depictions of them acting as guiding spirits.
Felix is a character notorious for being inconsistent and contradicting. Despite being adamant about working the “full shift,” he has never managed a constant work schedule. Felix is focused on keeping the tradition alive, which began during Felix Sr.’s time at Duke’s. Through the lens of the audience, flashbacks of Felix’s memories are reenacted, and the tension unravels between him and his coworkers.
Shortly after Pippin, which was presented in December, Play Pro director Ariana Messana decided on “The Hope and Heartache Diner” as their next presentation. According to Messana, the play “offered a lot of different opportunities for everyone in our group.”
With the assortment of personalities throughout the characters, every cast member had a chance to show a different side of themselves, truly embodying their character. Whether it was the Southern Belle Mission, the brawny Felix Sr., or the comedic relief Sam Brown, a spectrum of qualities kept the performance entertaining.
Even stage tech members, set-directors sophomore Sofia Evoras and junior Ivan Lin were praised for their work in conceptualizing and designing the set. “We tried a lot of new tech elements; we got a brand new custom-made neon sign for the show,” Messana announced. Showcasing the various talents of the cast members and stage tech proved important in Messana’s objective of integrating everyone’s expertise.
After working on “The Hope and Heartache Diner” for three months, the team was ready to present their play at METG’s Fest. Delivering a sturdy performance, the play was well-received by the judging panel and the opposing schools. However, despite their hard work, they were unable to advance. Regardless, Messana thought positively, highlighting how they “had lots of laughs, lots of good times,” and “actually ended up winning three awards from the judges.”
Reminiscing on the competition, senior actress Addison McWayne (Mission) proudly remarked, “I thought that the whole competition brought us closer together. We got some notes that we will take into consideration for the next show, and I think we can grow a lot from this experience!”
Many cast members were able to consider what went wrong, setting future goals for themselves to develop as actors and actresses. Cast members McWayne, Boswell, and senior actress Natalie Keating (Rat) reflected the team’s inconsistencies as a whole and believed they could have improved their vocal projection.
Lead actor Boswell was tasked with conveying his best performance, which came with the struggles of having to provide each line perfectly. He also mentioned that had the cast not been so nervous, they could have been “projecting a bit more” and given the “characters more life.”
McWayne agreed, stating, “I think something we struggle with is projection, and the only way to get better is practice.” McWayne continued, crediting Keating with teaching “everyone how to healthily project.”
Keating noted improvement by concentrated training in their skills of “diction, projection” and “characterization,” which were glossed over in return for “getting the important things done.” A critical point in error Keating mentioned was the lack of enthusiasm in the cast, explicitly stating that “the cast had lost a little bit of that excitement after not moving on in the competition.”
Despite not advancing, Malden’s Play Pro team was able to deliver a well-structured play, gaining traction from the audience as it filled with a roar of laughter and applause.
Messana concluded: “I think that at the end of the day, win or lose in this competition, it’s really about the experience of getting to have our kids see other high school students and watch lots of cool theater.”
