CCHS theater students capture several medals at region contest

By NATALIE MARSHALL

Special to Leader-Press

Theatre students at Copperas Cove High School know that it takes teamwork and research to transform their roles into award-winning pieces of a production. For four cast members, their parts earned them recognition against six other schools at the District 12 – 6A UIL One-Act-Play competition held at Harker Heights High School.

The play, And the Rain Came to Mayfield by Jason Milligan, is a poetic family drama that takes place in a small gas station/luncheonette on a Mississippi highway in 1962. Carl, the son of the gas station's owner, wants to go to college. His father, an alcoholic, doesn't support those dreams, though his mother tries to gingerly balance the father-son tug-of-war. A young black man seeks shelter from the rain while he waits for the bus to Jackson. Carl discovers that he shares something in common with the young man. Both have dreams they want to fulfill; both need to establish their independence and start their lives. The play is fictional but is based on events that happened at the University of Mississippi in 1962, when James Meredith, the first black student admitted to the school, started classes, CCHS Theater Arts Teacher Molli Mayberry said.

“We auditioned in December and began rehearsing in January right after the break. The students rehearsed for two hours every evening and on Saturday mornings. We built the set together with the help of my husband,” Mayberry said.

“Most of our set decor is from the 1960s or before since the play takes place in 1962. So we researched the clothes, accents, civil rights, Mississippi, college, and anything else from the 60's that we had questions about.”

Encar Dinger received a tech award for lighting. Kaylyn Kirkpatrick received an honorable mention for all-star cast medal. Laura Purvis and Houston Smith both received all-star cast medals. Kirkpatrick played the role of Emma.

“It was exciting for me to have the opportunity to play a mother. I’d been studying my mom without her realizing it, trying to pick up on her traits and it’s been a very cool experience overall,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was rewarding to have the chance to share a production that contains social commentary regarding family relationships and racism in the sixties. After all, it’s important to learn from our past as a nation.”