GREENFIELD — After placing first in the Indiana Thespian Society regional competition in Avon, Greenfield-Central Thespian Troupe 2691 advanced to the state competition at Franklin Central High School with its student-directed one-act, “One-Lane Bridge.”
Directed by senior drama students Hayden Bortorff and Mae Griffin, and starring Dean Camacho, Stella Wood and Mary Voigt, the play takes place on a snowy night as 16-year-old Eli (Camacho) gives a ride to Samantha (Wood), a friend of a friend. During the drive, the two tell ghost stories as Eli decides he’s increasingly ready to reach their destination.
Each one-act in the competition is restricted to 45 minutes, including set-up time and the time needed to remove the set pieces at the conclusion of the play, said Greenfield-Central drama director Carolyn Voigt.
“One-Lane Bridge,” selected by Voigt, ended up being a compact 35 minutes, well within the time limit.
Although the one-act failed to move on to the national competition, the group came away with several awards including best sound design, best overall technical design and a best overall actor award for Camacho.
The judges’ notes included mention of the trees and the car used in the one act: the trees were on wheels, and the car was a full-size golf cart made to look like an actual vehicle.
Dennis Cole, assistant theater director, with the help of theater parent Brian Elliott, worked to make the boxy shape of the golf cart into the boxy vehicle style of a Kia Soul.
“We even ordered a Kia emblem to place on the front,” Cole said.
Voigt is proud to have such a talented group of students to work with.
“I’m looking forward to all that we can accomplish together in the years to come,” she said.
