One Act Play State Festival, 2023; Four Class A performances receive coveted "starred performance" ratings

After watching and then individually critiquing eight Class A dramatic productions, a panel of judges rated four of them “starred performances” on Friday, February 10. The 75th One Act Play State Festival was held at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul.

Belle Plaine had a special guest in the audience for its performance of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Minneapolis author Kate DiCamillo, who wrote the book that Belle Plaine’s play was adapted from, was at the O’Shaughnessy for the Tigers’ show.

The three remaining Class A productions that earned “starred” ratings were: New Life Academy of Woodbury for Writers’ Block, Central Minnesota Christian for Our Place and Esko for The Inexplicable Chaos of Mia Gregory. Other schools participating in the Class A festival were Southland, Mora, Park Rapids Area and Bagley.

Representing Section 2, Belle Plaine’s “starred performance” of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was directed by Tony Hartmann and Dylan O’Brien. The script was adapted by Dwayne Hartford from the book by Kate DiCamillo. Belle Plaine was making its 19th appearance and earned its 18th “starred” rating. The school earned its other “stars” in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Representing Section 3, Central Minnesota Christian’s “starred performance” of Our Place was written by Terry Gabbard and directed by Kevin Wassenaar and Randy Groen. This was the first “starred” rating for the Bluejays in their second appearance.

Representing Section 4, New Life Academy of Woodbury’s “starred performance” of Writers’ Block was an original production directed by Janette Bach and Gina Kortuem. The Eagles were making their first festival appearance.

Representing Section 7, Esko’s “starred performance” of The Inexplicable Chaos Factor of Mia Gregory by Emily Hageman was directed by Laura Zimny and Joyce Bergstedt. This was the first “starred” rating in three appearances for the Eskomos.

The Minnesota State High School League State One Act Play Festival does not involve direct competition. Judges rate the plays according to specific criteria, including pace, blocking, costuming, and projection of the play’s meaning. Each production is limited to 10 minutes of stage preparation and 35 minutes of actual performance.

“Starred performance” ratings are determined by private balloting of the judges. One school from each of eight sections in each class gets to perform at the state level.

For complete information on the festival, please visit www.mshsl.org/oneactplay.