Bridgeport High School Thespian Troupe #7549 takes its one-act play, “Bury the Dead,” to the Regional Thespian Festival, Saturday at Fairmont Senior High School.

 

But before that, the student actors are bringing the production to the public. At 7 p.m. Friday, the 45-minute show will be performed at the BHS theater with no admission cost. “Bury the Dead” is an ensemble show, meaning that there are no lead roles and that everyone has their moment to shine on stage, said Director Trina Byard. Thirty-two cast and crew members are involved.

 

“Bury the Dead” is a thought-provoking piece written by Irwin Shaw in the 1930s, said BHS Theater Teacher/Thespian Faculty Sponsor Jared St. Martin Brown.

 

“It takes place in a hypothetical war and, of course, the playwright is really familiar with the Great War – now called World War I – and he would have also been noticing people rising to power in Europe and he was probably concerned about the threat of war,” St. Martin Brown said. “So, this play discusses the human cost of war. What you have is a bunch of people fighting for their lives and rejecting the inevitable death that comes from military conflict.”

 

Though not violent in nature, it is a very heavy piece in that it deals with deep emotions and the value of life, he said. It is recommended for teens and adults.

 

It’s important, St. Martin Brown said, for actors to develop plays of serious nature.

 

“Every play has a message; even a funny play can have a serious message. But sometimes, we like to do a serious play with a serious message,” he said. “It gives students a chance to deal with some acting they wouldn’t normally do in a happier play – a chance to exercise those skills to convey a serious subject in a serious way – and it also gives the audience another aspect of theater arts. Theater can deal with serious subjects. It doesn’t have to be light entertainment. It can ask big questions.”

 

The show is challenging and its preparation happened to land right in the midst of rehearsals for the all-school production of “BARNUM” - to be performed Feb. 24-25 at BHS.

 

“About 60 percent of our actors are also in ‘BARNUM’ and most of the kids in the crew are working on both,” Byard said. “But this is for our Thespian Festival competition and we decided to take on the challenge. The kids really enjoy going to Thespian Festival. They were up for the challenge, so we were up for the challenge.”

 

They are handling that challenge in an amazing way, said Byard, adding that it’s so important to the Thespians to gain public support.

 

“They feed off the energy of the audience so that just helps boost their morale for what they will be facing the next day,” she said.

 

For the past three years, the BHS Thespian Troupe #7549 has advanced to the state level and their shows have placed in the top five at states. Two have advanced to national competition, Byard said.

 

In addition to the one-act play, the troupe will enter some tech projects, including a costume design entry, a short film entry and a script-writing entry.

 

The cast and crew of "Bury the Dead" follows: 

 

First General- Colin MacFarland

Captain- Brett Tustin

Third General- Trevor Wolfe

First Soldier- Ethan Willis  

Private Driscoll- Callia Byard

Private Morgan- Corey Stephens

Private Levy- Mohamed Ben Fredj

Private Webster- Andrew White

Private Schelling- Derek Hess

Private Dean- Wesley Cotter

Katherine Driscoll- Heather Bokey

Julia Blake- Jordan Kennedy-Rea

Joan Burke- Erica Cottrill

Martha Webster- Megan Rinker

Bess Schelling- Michaela Hutcheson

Mrs. Dean- Demi DiPiazza

Priest- Dalton Colton

Reporter- Madyia McCullough

Editor- Kady Hayes

Radio reporter- Vincent Pinti

Newsboy- Caroline Fulks

Voices:  Adelina Hill, Catherine Gray, Rylee Chamberlin, Samuel Cale

 

Director: Trina Byard

Acting Mentor: Lydia Mong

Producer: Jared St. Martin Brown

Technical Director/Designer: Jared St. Martin Brown

Production Designers: Trina Byard & Jared St. Martin Brown

Assistant Director: Meagan Hutcheson

Production Stage Manager: Haley Wilson

Vocal and Music Director: Erica Cottrill

Sound: Ashlynn Paascoe

Lighting: Zayne Byard,

Spots: Bailey King, Jordan Jones

Costume Designers: Maddie Labenne and Bethany Queen

Makeup Design: Izzy Hawkinberry

Crew: Jenna Keefover, Izzy Hawkinberry,

Bethany Queen, Maddie Labenne

 

Rehearsal photos are courtesy of Anita Cottrill.