MVHS Drama Students Explore Power Of Memory

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley High School theater program held its annual Senior Showcase on Thursday, May 25. It was an opportunity for the students to put on their final performances of the school year.

The classes put on a collective monologue play titled “Rememberin’ Stuff”. This theme set the tone for the evening. Sierra Reel played the president of a fictional drama club assigned to put on a show about things they all remember. The cast brainstorms ideas for topics and each student gives a personal monologue. Many of these monologues struck at the heart of some rather deep societal issues.
Cole Crickmer-Sprouse, performed an act about a family’s dependence upon food stamps and others’ judgments towards them.

Mikelle Ericksen played the role a young girl scout whose Jewish customs prevented her from selling a large volume of fundraising cookies. With the help of an old rich man named Mr. Wong, played by Sam Jolley, Esther reaches her goal.
Later in the performance, Ethan Smedley plays a young child learning he is adopted from his parents played by Sara Udall and FJ Biebl.
Continuing on the topic of parenthood, Chloe Simmonds gave an intense performance as Betty, who speaks emotionally about disagreements with her parents.

FJ Biebl played the role of Nolan, a boy who feels he is caring and loving but has never been told so by his parents and simply feels misunderstood.
Analise Jorgensen turned to a more comical note, as she performed a skit about learning to play baseball from her Italian aunt, which ends in a broken window.
Brylee Watkins and Alyssa Leavitt wrapped up Act One with a dramatic performance about abusive relationships. Watkins, played a girl waiting for her friend Lisa who is in the hospital as a result of abuse from her boyfriend Ben.

In an act titled “Dear Eva Hansen”, Keely Watkins played Eva, a stressed out teenager writing letters to herself about her anxiety before starting her first day of school as a senior in high school.
In the next monologue, Nathaniel Brill joked about tossing back and forth between feeling too skinny or too fat in “Fat Temple”.

Patti Vassar gave an emotional rendition of “Lifeboat” by Kevin Murphy and Lawrence O’Keefe. The monologue is about the complicated nature of suicide, drawing an analogy to a lifeboat being too full and someone needing to jump off.

In “Memorial”, Victoria Pray, Ruth Hone, and Chloe Simmonds and others discuss the passing of a friend, Beth, to an eating disorder.
Anna Bush then played an awkward girl named Dana. During the course of the piece she finally gets the guy she has a crush on to notice her and both realize they have something in common.
In a humorous sketch, Kelley Robison played Josephine, who insists her driver’s test instructor, played straight-faced by Nathan Chandler, is a werewolf.
Sara Udall, playing a young character named Barbara, brings out a more serious tone once more with a piece about a child’s perception of the divorce of her parents.

The production finally ended with a performance by Sam Jolley about his first ever play and making a humorous on-stage mistake. Back in character as a drama instructor, Sierra Reel finally brings the performance full circle by highlighting that reminiscing can be healthy.

MVHS Theatre instructor Anjie Lee presented awards to a number of students in the program. The Best Leading Man and Lady awards, which Lee called the Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep awards went to Nathaniel Brill and Keely Watkins. Lee was also sure to recognize Guillermo Hernandez, who was in the Theatre Tech program and has worked behind the scenes for multiple years.

The Senior Showcase took the audience on a series of emotional ups and downs while addressing many complicated issues. This year’s Senior Showcase certainly showed the potential that next year’s group of experienced actors possesses, as well as the impressive work that the graduating seniors have put out in their years in the program.