Keniston vs. Keniston: A student review of this year’s one-act plays

Photo courtesy of Bobby Keniston FAMILY FEUD — In early March at the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft students from Foxcroft Academy and PCHS competed in Keniston vs. Keniston, an evening of one-act plays with those from Foxcroft performing under the direction of Bobby Keniston and the PCHS students performing under the direction of Keniston’s father Robert. Pictured are the two Keniston’s with Robert Keniston, left, being held back by Foxcroft Academy student Sam Phillips and Nik Hasenfus holding back Bobby Keniston.

By Atticus Dennis and Dan Decker
Foxcroft Academy seniors

    Students from Foxcroft Academy and Piscataquis Community High School came together March 1-2 at the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft for a rousing one-act play competition. The competition was unique in that the directors of the plays happened to be a father and son. Bobby Keniston, or “Young Mr. Keniston,” directed three plays for the Foxcroft Academy dramatists, including “Aeroplane Over the Sea,” “Rabbits in the Garden” and “A Fractured Fairy Tale,” a twisted version of “Red Riding Hood.” Robert Keniston, Bobby’s father, directed the PCHS play “My Prom Date was a Felon.” Each of the plays was quite entertaining and the night was a success.

    The cast members featured in the FA shows included Mindy Fenn, Ali Desmarais, Stephanie Gates, Ivy Dow, Paul Birtwistle, Leah Word, Sarah Phillips, Savannah Hobbs, Sam Phillips, Claire Hamlin and Angelina Bozzeli. Guilford members included Cody Richards, Caitlyn Hession, Elaine Riitano, Casey Northup, Emily Northup, Zach Fortier and Jacob Campbell.
    The first show of the night was “A Fractured Fairy Tale,” which featured an improv work done by the cast. While following some of the major points of “Red Riding Hood,” there were many clever diversions in the form of Sam Phillips performing as “Wacky Sam” and Paul Birtwistle as Grandma. The play follows Little Red on her journey to Grandma’s house and her encounter with the wolf, a huntswoman and a few activists.
    “Rabbits in the Garden” was the second production of the night. The production was unique because the play was actually written by an amateur playwright from Foxcroft Academy,

Bozzelli

Hamlin

Phillips

freshman Racquel Bozzelli. The play was about a young, insane girl who experimented on rabbits in the family garden, performing amputations and medical experiments. The mother of the girl sends her off to an insane asylum, where she befriends a maid and encounters another girl. The play explores dark realities as the girl begins to realize her desolate future and tries to escape. But there is no escape from the institution, and soon the girl is murdered by her friend. The play ended with the dramatic words, “In the end, we are all just rabbits in the garden.” The play’s exploration of dark ideas and images was able to cleverly portray the desolation that we all sometimes feel.
    “My Prom Date was a Felon” was PCHS’s addition to the festival. The story centered around a lonely high schooler wasting his prom night away before meeting a new girl named Indigo and experiencing the night of his life. There was action, excitement and good humor from this play. Though the woman of his dreams is eventually forced to flee into the night, our hero learns about love and gains some confidence along the way.
    “Aeroplane over the Sea” was the last production of the night. The play centered around a doctor from America who had come to an unnamed foreign country to practice medicine. The government of the country was hostile to the American, who was only trying to help. The government accused him of being a terrorist and smuggling bombs into the country. Through a startling series of events, the doctor tries to save a young woman who was somehow wounded. The doctor is taken by the government, however, and the fate of the woman was unknown.
    While in custody, the doctor was visited by the woman, who told him to not be scared about his uncertain fate. Finally, the man is led to the execution with the guiding hand of the woman, who tells him not to be afraid and to remember the “aeroplane over the sea,” referencing a story that the doctor had told to the woman as she was dying. The play explores the thought of a person in a hostile, unwelcome environment. The allusions throughout the play to a “resistance” show the difficulties of helping a country throw off the shackles of bondage and the modern struggles that many countries today face as they attempt to overcome a tyrannous government.
    Afterwards, Mr. Bobby Keniston stated, “I thank you all for your support of this event.  Another unofficial point I have noticed is that people have been talking about the event in the community. I have not been able to stop at a store without several people asking about how it was going, which school won, or who was doing better, etc. This is the first year that community members have made a point to talk to me and ask about the one-acts, which was very gratifying.”
    Mr. Keniston was also quite pleased with the attendance, as 183 people viewed the plays over the course of two nights.
    The plays were assessed by the audience in the categories of volume, directing, and characterization and at the end of the weekend, FA came away with a very narrow victory by a score of 31.5 to 31.1 points. Despite any point standings, both schools put together an incredible performance and represented our area very well.
    Mr. Keniston then took his actors, whom he referred to as the most special group he’s worked with in his time at FA, to Skowhegan to compete in the Maine Principal’s Association One-Act competition. Senior Sam Phillips and freshman Claire Hamlin were named to the All-Festival Cast, and sophomore Adam Baird won the Special Judge’s Award for Lighting Operator.