Anyone who has worked in theater will tell you there is always a frantic, last-minute scramble before a show opens. But Harvard’s middle school drama group faced a genuine crisis early Saturday morning, April 27, as the cast and crew of “A Simple Task” prepared to go to Weston for a session of the Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild Middle School Drama Festival.
It was barely 7 a.m., the expected bus to transport the scenery had not arrived, and the Bromfield students would be disqualified if they were late to the festival. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the two large platforms simply would not fit into any of the vehicles on hand.
Culkins to the rescue
At that point, parent and School Committee member Kirsten Wright phoned her friends Mike and Karen Culkins, who own a pick-up truck. Despite the early hour, Mike Culkins and his truck were at the school in short order, and the show was soon ready to hit the road.
“The kids were so enthusiastic,” Mike said. “They all came running out to help.”
The day ended much better than it began for the Bromfield middle schoolers. Their one-act play earned top honors–a gold medal–among the seven competing schools at the Weston branch of the state festival. In addition, Maddie Drummey, Joey D’Amore, Alicia Bakis, and Emily Brown won individual awards for acting. Alex Magan, Jack Donaldson, and Connor O’Shea won awards for ensemble acting.
Rachael Makosky, Kenny Morin, Emily Brown, Michael Canning, India Bartram, and Abby Zajak completed the award-winning cast.
Student directors for “A Simple Task” were Bromfield seniors Daniel Jackson and Ben Senkowski. The faculty director was Martha Brooks. Brooks, and Nate Raymond designed the set, which was built by the Bromfield introductory and advanced tech theatre classes and painted by Jared Gallivan. Caroline Hentz and Christina Burns served as stage crew. Costumes were by Beth Drummey and Martha Brooks, and lighting was by Gregory Raymond.
Last production will be outdoors
In the coming weeks, high schoolers in the Bromfield Drama Society will present their last production of the year, Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The play will be performed outdoors in front of the Harvard Public Library from Friday, May 31, through Sunday, June 2. All performances start at 7:30 pm, with admission $5 for students and senior citizens and $10 for adults. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be in Cronin Auditorium.
