Local Teen Produces Original Play

Craig Godfrey | Apr 03, 2014

Not only did Sharbot Lake teen, Madeleine R. Field-Green live up to the challenge of directing a play at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival; she had her own original script produced.

Last week, high schools from around the region took part in the annual Sears Ontario Drama Festival. The festival, which is in its 68th year, promotes and celebrates creativity, individuality and risk taking in all aspects of theatre. Plays may be written by professional playwrights but must be directed and produced by students.

Madeleine (Maddie), is a senior student at St. John Catholic High School, Perth, but she got her start in theater in many North Frontenac Little Theatre plays, starting with the production King and I in 2002, when she was only 5 years old.

She decided last summer to write a play. Lots of people do that. Maddie, however, joins an elite group of Canadian women, in that her play was actually produced and performed on public stage in competition with plays from the likes of Norm Foster, Lindsay Price and Daniel MacIvor.

On one level, the one-act play, entitled Now What? presents snapshots of human beings as they come and go through a cafe during an unspecified time. The audience is invited into their most private thoughts about life, work, love and dignity. I think that for some in the audience that was the play. And on that level it worked, owing to a solid performance by the cast.

On a deeper level, some of the audience couldn't help but feel they were watching a play about two people, at various stages in their life. I started thinking that the young student (Aidan Adrain), lawyer (Meaghan Brackenbury), street person (Isaiah Kafrissen) and piano player (Maddie Fied-Green) were all one person at various stages in life. Similarly, the female student (Sarah Noonan) was also the lonely college professor (Bridie Kafrissen).

I left thinking that perhaps the theme of the play was “choices “. In life, we make choices, and when they don’t work out we ask, Now What?

In the foyer after, I asked the play's set designer, Sofia Ratzinger, also a local teen (from Crow Lake Village) about the theme and she replied, “The beauty of art is that it is open for personal interpretation”.

As a member of North Frontenac Little Theatre, and teacher for the past 30 years I was proud of all the students from all 16 plays. I must mention the stunning performance of another NFLT student actor, Dayna Stone from McDonalds Corners (Annie, Tom Sawyer, Best Christmas Pageant) representing her school, Perth District Collegiate.

Madddie cast herself in the role of the silent, watching piano player, and co-directed the play with Paige Brackenbury

Now What? is the work of a true artist who wants control over her work. She didn’t need to worry because her work was in the loving hands of a strong protective cast and crew. And so, we wait for the next offering from Madeleine R. Field-Green.