The Theatre Department at Lake Lure Classical Academy is celebrating after being honored at the Charlotte Catholic High School site of the 2024 North Carolina Theatre Conference High School Play Festival. Awards are given for acting, design, technical craft, ensemble work, and festival spirit.
Under the direction of Fine Arts Teacher Layne Long, students presented The Price and received the following accolades:
- Festival Spirit Award
- Excellence in Lighting Design & Production: High School Senior, James Gingerich
- Outstanding Achievement in Stage Management: High School Sophomore, Leah Leighty
- Excellence in Acting: High School Senior, Moira Turner
- Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Acting
- Superior Rating
- Judge’s Choice, Distinguished Play, Honorable Mention – alternates for the State Festival
Participating schools travel to regional festival sites with theatrical sets, costumes, and props. Each show loads into a 10’x10’ backstage area. When their time comes, each school group has 45 minutes to set up, perform, and then clear the stage. Following the performance, students receive feedback from professional actors and directors with Broadway and Hollywood credits. This year, over 2,400 students from 93 schools performed in 118 productions.
The ensemble, which won for Outstanding Ensemble Acting, won praise from the judges. Tiffany Bryant-Jackson, one of the adjudicators at the festival, mentioned in her adjudication form, “The collective pursuit of character objectives by the ensemble created a compelling and immersive theatrical experience, resonating with the audience.”
Michael Smith, Assistant Principal for the High School at Lake Lure Classical Academy, commented, “I am so proud of Mrs. Long and her theatre troupe. They have worked hard to bring a wonderful play to life, and they have brought so much positive energy to the school during the process. The arts are a vital part of classical education, and it is wonderful to see them flourishing here at LLCA.”
The play, chosen by Ms. Long (written by playwright Don Zolidis), is a fairy tale based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale, Story of a Mother. In the play, a mother with a sick child is visited by a traveler who the audience soon discovers is Death. He plans to take the child to his greenhouse where every life is represented as a flower and the mother does everything she could and sacrifices almost everything to save her baby. To gain information, she meets Night, a Thornbush, a Great Lake, and an Old Man along the way and each has a price she must pay. In the end, she must decide whether to get back all she has sacrificed or save her child.
Upon receiving the Distinguished Play award, Honorable Mention, Ms. Long said, “After everything the students have been through the last month, dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the way they came together and created a truly beautiful piece of art; I couldn’t be a prouder ‘Drama Mama’ of this incredibly strong, kind, and talented group of students.” Mrs. Long has been a teacher at LLCA since its inception, fifteen years ago, and is thrilled with the success of the theatre program she created. “Students need to express themselves and theatre is an excellent way for students to release and work through the big emotions they feel, especially at this age,” said Ms. Long.
For over 30 years, the NCTC High School Play Festival has strengthened arts education in schools by bringing the curriculum to life, challenging students to do their very best work, and contributing to the development of future audiences for live performing arts.
About The Lake Lure Classical Academy Theatre Program:
All middle school students who attend Lake Lure Classical Academy take theatre class as part of an elective rotation and all high school students are able to be part of the school’s award-winning theatre program. Additionally, a spring musical is presented each year by students in grades six through twelve.
Lake Lure Classical Academy is a tuition-free public charter school open to all North Carolina students. Any child who is qualified under the laws of North Carolina for admission to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. To qualify to attend an NC public school, a student must be a resident of North Carolina. County boundaries or school attendance areas do not affect charter school enrollment. LLCA does not limit admission to students on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion or ancestry. The school opened in the fall of 2010 and offers K–12 classes. Learn more at http://www.llcharter.org