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8 ALL-ORIGINAL PLAYS FROM SOUTHRIDGE STUDENTS
By JonT Vergara
Southridge has always been proud of its tradition in theater arts. Over the course of its twenty eight years, numerous stage productions have been put up by both students and faculty. The annual Christmas Play was an endeavor which the whole school looked forward to, not just to view it, but more importantly, to be involved in the entire process leading up to opening night. Over the past eight years however, a new tradition has emerged for the Southridge students to look forward to. The Plautus Plays are annual activities which students look forward to accomplishing.
This year's Plautus festival promises to once again showcase the diverse talents of the Southridge students. Breaking away from the previous years, the current festival no longer requires students to base their plays on the lives of historical figures or Shakespearean plays, as was the norm in the past. This year, the high school classes are given free rein to come up with original plays that deal with any topic and milieu, as long as the productions are of good quality and have a lasting moral. The result of such a resolution is the most diverse, original, and exciting Plautus Season.
The creativity of Southridge students takes center stage in this year's festival. Eight original plays were crafted, each with their own twists and unique intricacies. Take for example the superhuman inspired Paladin of IV-B or Badmen Begins from III-B. Both plays draw heavily on the dichotomy of superheroes and supervillains. For those who prefer a more realistic approach, III-C's Beneath Ground Zero provides a unique point of view for looking at the historic September 11 attacks. Even those with an affinity towards the classical era are satisfied with III-A's In gods We Trust, a tale about the Olympian gods meddling in the affairs of the Roman empire. Not to be outdone, the two "rookie" classes staging plays for the first time also came up with respectable plays as evidenced by II-A's mafia inspired Criminal Law and II-C's Ex Libris set in monastic times.
However, much credit much be given to the two front runners of this year’s festival. IV-A and IV-C, both contenders for last year’s awards have cemented their positions as favorites with original and ground-breaking plays. IV-A takes the challenge of staging a Sci-Fi, space-age play, entitled USB, a concept whose potential is unmatched. However, IV-C also comes up with a head-turning play with their mysterious and aptly named Clue.
These eight classes will duke it out, not only for Performance Task grades in English, but also for the much coveted “Plautus Awards” given at the end of the school year. Similar to the Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTA awards, the Plautus Academy honors the various individuals who have stood out in various categories of stage production. Awards such as "Best Achievement in Fight Choreography" and "Best Achievement in Dance Choreography" give credit to those who instill a light hearted tone into their plays. On the other hand, awards such as "Best Script", "Best Actor", and "Best Achievement in Direction" give credit to those students who excel in the various aspects of theatre. The coveted award however, is "Best Play", an award given to the play which is not just technically and theatrically sound, but to the play which adheres to the standards of Southridge tradition. In short, the award is given to the play which Southridge can most be proud of.
As a former student of the school, the "Latin Plays", as they were known back then, was eagerly anticipated by the juniors and seniors of the High School, primarily as a venue to further inter and intra batch competition, and to some extent, to appease the frustrated thespians harbored by our teenage bodies at the time. Looking back, years later, one realizes that it is neither the competition nor the opportunity to act in front of the audience that made the whole experience a lifelong memory. Rather, it was the fact that a number of 30-odd individuals can come together to face all sorts of trials and tribulations to achieve on common goal as a class. The most rewarding part of the experience was not the grade given the performance, the applause the audience showered upon the actors, nor the accolades the play garnered. The greatest reward was how the class had come together as one.
Now, as a teacher, I sit on the proverbial "other side of the fence". Much has changed in Southridge, including the Plautus Plays. As previously mentioned, the festival is now under the sponsorship of the English Department. The competition has also been opened to sophomores, and the freshmen have been assigned to the different classes as apprentices of sorts. However, stripping away all the details, the essence of the festival remains the same. Classes scramble to best each other for bragging rights and for the various awards up for grabs at season's end. Classes dedicate countless hours of their time for rehearsals in order to put up a crowd pleasing, and in some cases, a profitable performance. I can only hope that years from now, at their reunions and get-togethers, they realize that the "magic" that was behind their respective plays was not just money, awards, or the applause or screams of their female acquaintances.
It is my wish that the realization dawns on them at that time that all the effort, sacrifices, and hardships put into the Plautus plays will be rewarded not with material goods or acknowledgments, but from the fact that the bonds of friendship and camaraderie have been strengthened and cemented forever by their efforts to stage their class plays.
JonT Vergara is a member of batch 2002 and currently teaches Second Year Literature and Composition in Southridge. He is a distinguished member of the Plautus Academy, winning best Scriptwriter and Producer for the best play for Plautus 2002, The Negro Album.
8th ANNUAL PLAUTUS AWARDS (2008) NOMINEES
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