Salem High Students Earn MA Drama Festival Honors

SALEM, MA — Two Salem High students earned state honors for their work at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild High School Drama Festival.

Juniors Isabella Rios and Kira Bester were recognized for their contributions to the original play "This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing."

The one-act play depicts three sisters who travel the world, seeking adventure, only to meet 20 years later in the place it all began.

Rios, who began production as an understudy, earned an Excellence in Acting award for her performance as Albienne, while Bester was cited for Technical Excellence in Costume Design.

"I was so proud of Isabella, who took home a performance award for her portrayal of Albienne, the eldest sister," said Theater Director Leah Hamilton French. "Isabella stepped into this role as a last minute understudy just two weeks before the competition, learning an immense amount of lines in a very short amount of time. Her willingness to step up truly exemplifies the adage 'the show must go on.'

“I have worked with Kira for the past three years on Drama Club productions, and have watched her work her creative magic on scenic painting and design and props. This was the first year she designed costumes and she really knocked it out of the park. Her designs really helped to bring the world of the show alive, and I could not be more proud.”

The SHS Drama Club received awards for Technical Excellence for its design and use of shadow puppets and projections, which were hand-drawn by junior Gemma Murphy. The play's props were created by freshmen Maya Nathanson-Flowers and Julianna Riccio-Baez.

"Gemma's hand-drawn shadow puppets and projections, which helped us win a technical excellence award for props, exquisitely situated audience members in each new location, and added to the magic of our show."

The Festival included seven one-act plays from drama clubs from SHS, Boston Latin, North Reading, Swampscott, The Clark School, Manchester-Essex and host Saugus High. North Reading ("Cyrano de Bergerac"), Swampscott ("How to Get Away With a Murder Mystery"), and Saugus ("Woyzeck
Reimagined") each advanced to the semifinal round of the Festival.

The Drama Club performed "This Girl Laughs ..." on March 19 at the Horace Mann School after the cub performed "Chicago: Teen Edition" on Jan. 17 through Jan. 19 at the M. Ruth Norton Auditorium at Salem High School.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)