On Feb. 19, a team of 8 actors and 12 stage crew won the VHSL theatre competition, and will go on to compete at the state level with “Schubert’s Last Serenade.” The team did this without competing at the district level and losing practice time due to snow cancelations.

“We lost a week of rehearsal when we had 13 inches of snow and no power, and we actually were not able to compete at the district level of competition. We were on a time crunch as we approached the competition dates, but we got to work, came together, and created something truly magnificent,” Marcus Dowd (‘23) said. 

The play is told in two parts, the first being about Schubert, a composer, who died very young and as he was on death’s door had fits of madness. He wrote brilliant works of literature, but in disjointed pieces in which you can see the disjointedness within the play. 

“So it’s a little bizarre and a little off the wall. But overall, it is sort of a commentary on two things. One of which is Schubert, the composer, his life. It’s also sort of a commentary on workshopping a production,” stated Ms. Lisa Cover-Tucci, the drama teacher and director of the VHSL competition play, “Schubert’s Last Serenade.”

The way it’s written, things start going wrong, the actors strike out on their own and stop following the stage manager’s directions and it just goes a little off track. 

“It’s really exciting getting to see the play come alive from start to finish. It’s also super fun to get to meet new people, and make new friends,” said Lucy Gentry(’24).

If you want to watch the play yourself, you can go watch it after the 24-hour Play Festival on the 26th at 7:00 PM.