The acting spirit robustly filled the NPAC and Black Box theater at BHS, times 7! Bothell Drama performed seven senior-directed plays on Friday and Saturday, November 7th and 8th, filling the NPAC (Northshore Performance Arts Center) and Bothell Black Box with hundreds of theatrical viewers who were left far from disappointed.  

Each play– written, directed, and performed by Bothell students– showed the prowess and success of the BHS drama program. Each play had its own flavor, from a cheesy murder mystery to a play gone wrong (on purpose, it’s a part of the plot), to a tear-provoking drama that left me crying; these are only some of the plays that occurred on Saturday and Sunday. 

I’m going to split this article into two parts for the sake of simplicity. One for the plays performed in the NPAC on Friday and one for the Plays on Saturday. While each play was also performed in the Black Box on the days it was not shown in the NPAC, this will make the experience of Dramafest much more straightforward and easy to understand. 😀

FRIDAY:

The first play that kicked off Dramafest was a play directed by Nia Park and Emily Morgan, going by the name of Murder At the Mansion, a comedic murder mystery set in the 1940s. I really enjoyed the set design as I was on stage acting it! (Plot twist whaaat)

The second play of the night was called When Bad Things Happen To Good Actors. Directed by Kelsey Polzin and Gwen Johnson, it was a production of the Wizard of the Ozz where, well, everything goes wrong. It definitely garnered the attention of the NPAC audience, as laughs were constant and abundant. 

The third performance of the night was Copy and Paste, its classroom set and story based around clones, which had the audience hooked. It was directed by Jay Cambell and Evie Carnes.

The last play of Friday night was Adapted and Destroyed. This play followed Bouncy Bunny and the endeavors of the daughter of her deceased creator. It also highlighted some topics of marketing and corporatization to perfection. It was directed by Rowan Lago and Meadow Reiber. 

SATURDAY:

For You The Bell Tolls, a play directed by Bridgid Wolf and Kaz Crouch, is sadly the only play I couldn’t see or act out live, but I was able to see a full rehearsal of the production. The dramatics and deep story had me emotional during a rehearsal none the less. It is a real shame I was unable to watch it in the NPAC, but I bet the story was as emotional and dramatic as when I saw it.

How to Get Away With a Murder Mystery was a play with comedic timing and jokes that pushed it over-the-top. I think the audience agreed, as it definitely garnered a lot of laughs and enjoyment from the NPAC crowd. It was directed by Aaryahi Rana.

The last play of Dramafest was The Actor’s Nightmare directed by Thespian President Jackson Partidge and Charles Ottersburg. This play ended dramafest strong and its impactful lead led to a final touch on a great two nights of performances.

All in all, dramafest was a very successful event that unified the BHS drama community. We can look forward to BHS upcoming productions in work, these being the winter play Our Town, and the spring musical, Anything Goes.