Every fall, the Davie Players Theater class puts together a night of one-acts. This year the two one-acts are “Every Brilliant Thing” and “Where Have All the Lightning Bugs Gone.”
Davie Players took these two plays to the NCTC Regional High School Play Festival at Pinecrest High School in Pinehurst, North Carolina. This took place from November 8 through November 9, and multiple high schools across the region will compete. The show has to be set up and broken down in 45 minutes or less. There are awards given to the programs after the two days, two of which will go to the state competition.
While Davie did not ultimately qualify for states, they walked away with a total of six awards—three for each show.
Where Have All the Lightning Bugs Gone?
“Where Have All the Lighting Bugs Gone,” directed by senior Cora Nicholson, is a two-person show about a boy and a girl who meet in the park. At first, they’re hesitant around each other, but then they find that they connect with each other in several ways.
The Davie Players took home three awards for their performance at NCTC.
- Theatre Arts Award for Emotional Intimacy
- Excellence in Acting: Cameron Gordon
- Excellence in Design and Production for Student Direction: Cora Nicholson
Every Brilliant Thing
“Every Brilliant Thing,” originally a one-man show, is about a boy and his journey with his mother who suffers from depression and attempts suicide a couple of times. To help him process his emotions, he creates this list of “every brilliant thing,” his goal being to get to one thousand items. Ultimately, that goal turns into one million. The play is intended to be “very uplifting” despite the heavy topics.
“There’s a lot of humor in it, but there’s also a lot of heart to it,” theater teacher Chad Edwards said. “And it’s not a sad story that you would think about depression and suicide, but it’s very uplifting.”
The Davie Players took home three awards for their performance at NCTC.
- Theatre Arts Award for Handling of Emotional Content
- Excellence in Acting: Myka Smith
- Excellence in Ensemble Acting
In a Facebook post following the event, Edwards announced how proud he was of his students. They worked hard and represented themselves well, supporting other schools in the process.
“What more can I ask for?” Edwards asked. “Maybe just a little more sleep…”
You can go see these award-winning shows this weekend, Thursday, November 14 through Saturday, November 16 at 7 p.m. in the Davie High School auditorium. The cost is $5 for students and $7 for adults.