Last Saturday, the Winthrop High School Drama Society won Regionals, the final part of the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s Drama Festival this year. Normally, they would move on to Finals, but the event was canceled due to Covid. 

There were several individual awards also given out:

Daniel Tracy, Excellence in Acting

Sarah Delehanty, Excellence in Acting

Chris Rainey, Excellence in Acting

Will Gillis, Technical Excellence in Sound Design

Jolena Zaccaria, Excellence in Stage Management 

I asked the director, Ms. Calinda, a few post-production questions regarding the show. I also interviewed Zoe Long, a co-writer of the show’s script for some more information.

Ms. Calinda: 

1. Why did you pick Everyman? 

I love doing original adaptations because although the students have a storyline to follow, they can be very creative with their interpretation. “Everyman” is a play we did for the METG Festival in 2008 and it was one of my favorites. I knew that this group could put a new spin on it! 

2. What was the most rewarding part of the directing process? 

As always, it’s seeing it “all come together.” We always start with just an idea and then within a few months, we have a complete script and a full blown production! I also loved seeing my students tackle these big, existential concepts. Winning Regionals was so rewarding- it felt like two years of emotion in that moment. I felt such pride seeing the students get recognized for their amazing work! 

3. What was the most challenging part of the production – and how did you overcome it? 

Time. We started this process on February 2nd and had to have the production ready by March 19th. We overcame this by putting in a lot of hours in rehearsal- including all of February vacation. The students spent many hours outside of rehearsal working on writing and learning their lines. 

4. Is there anyone (tech or cast) that you would say really stood out in terms of bringing the production to life? 

Daniel Tracy and Zoe Long were the lead writers and script editors for the play. They are not only brilliant writers but they cared so deeply about this script. Their dedication to excellence impressed me on a daily basis. Additionally, they are so kind, upbeat and positive. It was truly my honor to collaborate with them. Also, Jolena Zaccaria, our Stage Manager had so much responsibility. There are so many things to juggle and so many hours of rehearsals and tech to attend. Jolena did all of this with grace, maturity and a smile on her face. She is the unsung hero of the production.

Zoe Long:

1. What was the play writing process like?         

This was my first time on the writing team for a Winthrop High School play but it was an incredible learning experience, so rewarding, and overall fun. Working with my good friend, Dan Tracy, made the process go so much smoother and made the play a lot more important to me. We went scene by scene, asking cast members to share ideas, write scenes, and help along the way. We ended up changing a lot of the main themes to fit the impact we wanted the play to end up having. At the end of the day, I loved the writing process. 

2. Did you think you would advance as far as you did?

I knew this play had something special from the very start, so I had a feeling. Our incredible crew and cast did such an amazing job, and I think we had such an incredible story to tell as well. When at Regionals I was a bit nervous, as there were so many talented schools there, but I did have a feeling our play was unique. 

3. Do you have any final thoughts that you want to share with the cast and crew?

I want to thank the cast and crew so so SO much for making this experience so special, impactful, and fun for me. The crew puts so much work into these productions, and I cannot thank them enough for all that they do. All of our cast members are so talented, and seeing words Dan or I wrote being performed is incredible! Everyone involved made this fest very special to me! I’d also like to give a last shoutout to Miss Calinda. She believed in everyone, pushed us to do our best, and is an incredible role model.

We congratulate the Drama Society on their win and wish them the best in future productions! We also congratulate the cast and crew members that received individual awards for outstanding work!