Fort Kent Drama team preparing for Maine State Drama Festival

Fort Kent, Maine (WAGM) - The Fort Kent Drama team is gearing up for competition as they head to the Maine State Drama Festival in Ellsworth this weekend. News Source 8′s Isaac Potter has the story.

”The bus is packed and ready to leave as the Fort Kent Drama team is heading to Ellsworth this weekend to compete in the Class B Maine State Drama Festival. The team will competing with their play “Boom Box” that addresses teen suicide.

Douglas Clapp, Theater Program Director at Fort Kent Community High School

“It was written in 1991, I wrote it. I worked with Emergency Word of Massachusetts general hospital for many years before I moved up here. So I had that in the back of my head, and the Bergenfield New Jersey incident happened where five students had committed suicide down there. And two students in my theater class at Wisdom High school wanted to sync their teachers into something deeper, so this was my attempt to write something for them, and it’s had a history since then.”

The students have prepared their play for the past few months, including by doing exercises to help them get ready for their role.

Nathaniel Paradis, Plays the role of Leroy in Boom Box

“We built an alleyway to make it to make it look like we are going into a car off an alleyway. We would actually go into an alleyway in town, we went to a church one time. Where we would talk to God, and it got your head a lot. So it does a lot of things to make you relate to this character and feel.”

Sadie Cairns, Plays the role of Val in Boom Box

“We also went to the church, and said our monologues. Each character has a monologue, kind of talking to a higher power, and we actually went to the church and got to say our monologues of it. That really helped make it feel more real.”

Clapp has been to many festivals over the years. He says when they get to Ellsworth, the students will get a real feel for what it is like in the State Drama festival.

Douglas Clapp, Theater Program Director at Fort Kent Community High School

“The regionals you will see some beginning schools and things like that. But at the states they are all winners from all the different festivals. So you are up against all good plays, it’s a different kind of thing. This is the first time they have gone to states, this particular group. This year they go as a finalist, and they are going to have to be on top of their play, all the way. Because the other plays will all be good.”

Team will compete at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday at Ellsworth High School. The team is excited to be at the festival, and is hopeful to bring the first place trophy back to Aroostook County. Isaac Potter News Source 8.”

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