By Samantha Sinclair
CNI News Service
Two Habersham Stage Raiders returned from the Georgia Theatre Conference with best performer awards.
Seniors Ansley Broome and Nolan Penick won for their performances of Mary and William in “Tuesdays and Sundays” for the Ray Horne One Act Competition at the conference in Kingsland Oct. 12-15.
The one-act play was also ranked No. 1 in the state-wide competition, Director Jeremy Bishop said, but because it ran two minutes over the allotted time of 45 minutes, it was deemed ineligible for awards.
“We’re disappointed, but we still came home with our heads held high,” Bishop said. Bishop said they never got close to the limit while practicing, and he didn’t notice the actors performing slower than usual during the competition. However, he was timing along with the judges, and the times matched.
He noted the wins were big as unlike other competitions, schools aren’t broken up size. Other schools in the competition included Brunswick High School, Camden County High School, Lakeside High School, Perry High School, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, and Greater Atlanta Christian School.
“Everybody is thrown into the mix,” he said.
Bishop first learned of the play his students performed a few years ago. It is based on a true story that happened in a rural town in Canada. The show seems like an innocent boy meets girl story at first, but slowly avalanches into tragedy.
“The effect on the audience was electric,” Bishop said. “The students were like celebrities for the rest of the conference.”
The Stage Raiders will next compete in the Georgia High School Association Region Championship Thursday.