The Hawk Staff

The HHS Drama Club received rave reviews for its performance in the Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild’s Drama Festival at Duxbury High School on March 19. Presenting the one-act play Badger by Don Zolidis, the cast and crew performed brilliantly with individual awards going to stage manager Karen Bell, actors Ben Manning and Morgan Gentile, choreographer Callia Gilligan and musical composer Jacob Asnes. While the show will not be moving to the next round, the cast and crew did a fantastic job representing HHS.

The METG Drama Festival is an annual theatrical competition. Schools gather together and each presents a 40-minute one-act piece, with just 5 minutes to put together and strike, or take down, their sets. At the end of the day, each play is scored and three winners are named. Drama Festival is a wonderful and exciting day, an event that HHS Drama annually participates in. 

In the past, HHS has presented shows such as The Scheme of the Driftless Shifter, an over-the-top comedy. In 2019, the club advanced to the semi-finals with its production of At the Bottom of Lake Missoula. Last year, due to the pandemic, the festival was moved to a virtual presentation. Hanover still participated with 4 A.M. by Johnathon Dorf, submitting a video of the performance. 

This year’s play Badger focused on four women working in a munitions factory during World War II and the challenges they faced as women in the workforce. It is both a heartbreaking and uplifting story that paints a strong picture of the hardships of domestic life during the war. 

The cast was led by Sammy Burke (‘22) as Rose, Gentile (‘22) as Irene, Lauren Casey (‘22) as Grace, and Caris Mann (‘22) as Barbara. Manning (‘22) played Tim, another factory worker who takes an interest in Rose, and Rose Giordani (‘22) played Barbara’s husband, John, who is overseas fighting. The Chorus included Erin Shea (‘23), Kendall Sherwood (‘22), Mary Longueil (‘22), Paulina Leskow (‘24), Addy Potter (‘24), Bella MacDonald (‘24) and Kaya Biunculli (‘23). The Chorus is the backbone of the show, taking on various characters and roles within the factory. 

Rehearsals began before the fall musical was even complete, under the direction of Mr. Fahey and the stage management of Bell (‘22) and Paulina Leskow (‘24). Asnes (’25) composed original music for the play. A performance for the HHS community on March 17 served as a final rehearsal before competition.