Belle Plaine production judged first; advance to MSHSL State Festival
The Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) one-act play entry – “The Middle of Yesterday” – finished as Section 2A Runner-Up at the Saturday, February 6 contest at Jordan Middle/Senior High School/
Winning the title from the eight plays presented on the day was the production from Belle Plaine High School, “Anatomy of Gray.” “Anatomy of Gray” tells the story of June Muldoon, a 15-year-old girl growing up in a small Indiana town in the 1880s. When June’s father dies, she prays for a healer to come to the small town so that no one will ever suffer again. The next thing she knows, there’s a tornado and a man in a balloon blows into town claiming to be a doctor. At first, the new doctor cures anything and everything, but soon the town’s preacher takes ill with a mysterious plague, which begins to spread. The play deals with death, loss, love and healing in a unique coming-of-age story.
The Minnesota State High School League’s State One-Act Play Festival will be held in the O’Shaugnessy Auditorium on the campus of the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. The “A” schools perform on Thursday, February 11, and the “AA” plays on Friday, February 12.
Other schools participating in the Section 2A contest with one-act productions were St. Clair High School, St. Peter High School, Medford High School, Springfield High School, Maple River High School and Le Sueur-Henderson High School.
The MLHS one-act play, “The Middle of Yesterday,” by Ken Jones, looked inside the affect Alzheimer’s Disease has on the mind – and tries to give an answer.
Kilby Fleming, an aging ex-War hero, struggles between reality and the hauntings of his memories as he declines into the dark world of Alzheimer’s. Locked in time, Kilby is forced to view his past as the people in the present fight to bring him back.
Directing the MLHS one-act play are Julie Brugman and Crystal Fast.
Cast
+ Kilby Fleming – Sam Grev.
+ Stephen Fleming – Ethan Karschnik.
+ Nurse – Liana Blomgren.
+ Leanna Fleming – Carmen Syverson.
+ Young Stephen Fleming – Regan Syverson.
+ Lacy – Jae Faber.
+ Navy Officer – Ruben Fentanez.
Crew
+ Lights – Jareya Harder.
+ Sound – Kalley Rempel.
+ Stage Crew – Eli Karschnik, Isaac Grev, Amy Bartsch and Dawn Geertsema.