The Advanced Acting (AA) class swept the awards ceremony of the annual North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) Regional Play Festival with seven wins. In the plays that many students in their fourth blocks had the opportunity to see, A Most Curious Phenomenon and Beyond Tolerance, many saw the lights dim in the auditorium, heard the audience noise slowly fading into the darkness and witnessed the stage becoming the center of attention. “Lake Norman High School, your time begins now!” is said as the blue curtain parts and the show begins. “At regionals there was an explosive atmosphere every time a school won.” Said Ashley Armstrong, junior, “it was really insane-the amount of energy in the room.” Ecstatic emotions ran up and down each aisle. The moment of announcing the awards brought surprised and validated reactions. Seniors, Sophie Amelkin won Best Actress, solely given to one actress from the entire competition, while fellow performer Darren Hummel took home an Honorable Mention award. Both plays, A Most Curious Phenomenon and Beyond Tolerance, won a Superior Rating. Phenomenon was also recognized as a Distinguished Play, which meant a deserving ticket to the 2007 NCTC State High School Play Festival.
AA is composed of 26 dynamically talented actors and actresses, playing important roles in the formula for a collaborative environment. Theatre Arts teacher Kelly Dowell directs the class for most phenomenal performances, from state competitions to the school’s Madrigal Dinner. Her guidance leads each student to find an inner voice that is expressed in class or on stage. If the AA class were an intricate marble statue, Dowell would be the sculptor.
“Ms. Dowell is able to take all of us, control our craziness and turn it into an art,” said junior, Jeff Zwilling. The fine art of theatre is a collective effort where an individual line, facial expression, gesture or motivational joke piece together to form a unified piece of work, a performance. Under the surface of an exciting experience is the fact the competition is grueling. The sun goes down, but the AA crew is wide-awake. Hard work is midnight efforts of loading a set to a truck, pre-dawn trips to Starbucks and working into the evening to maintain good grades. Validation for the hard work was felt at regionals.
“I think we were all just ecstatic that we had gotten to states for Ms. Dowell,” said Armstrong, “she’s the mother of the whole group and it’s just really a great feeling when you make her proud.” ‘Energetic’ may not be enough of a word to capture the liveliness in AA. Inside jokes fly like bullets as laughter explodes in the room. The AA class is like a sorority and fraternity that have joined forces, making for a powerful bond. A bond that can easily deliver commendable performances, with of course, consideration to countless rehearsals.
The is a quote on the back of the AA t-shirt that is reminiscent of competition. Each play is limited to 45 minutes. A girl with a stopwatch stands near the stage grasping a stopwatch. The shirt’s caption is “Our Time Begins Now.” For AA, it absolutely has.