Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, February 26, 2009

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Kayla Bryan, one of the four fish, applies silver clown makeup for a dress rehearsal of "Feeding the Moonfish."

Drama students from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School are taking their show on the road. Their play “Feeding the Moonfish” will represent Kentucky in competition at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Birmingham, Ala., during the first week of March.

Before leaving town, they’ll present two encore performances this weekend (see details below).

The cast and crew have already tasted success – beating out a dozen schools at the Kentucky High School Theatre Festival in the fall. “Feeding the Moonfish,” by playwright Barbara Wiechmann, won the award for “Best Play,” and all six cast members made the “All-Star Cast” list.

The stakes are raised in Birmingham. “It’s a really prestigious competition – the best of the best from the whole Southeastern region,” said Bethany Finley, who plays the female lead.

There, judges will look at a lot more than just the play.

“It’s literally timed from the minute they say ‘You may begin,’” said Shirley Bryan, volunteer coordinator and parent organizer. “It basically starts off as a blank stage. They have 45 minutes, start to finish.”

The 10-member crew totes out a fishing pier and other props, the cast performs, and the stage hands break everything down. “It’s a team sport,” Bryan explained.

Alicia Henning, who directs “Moonfish,” said the judges will rate acting ability, including articulation, voice control and body movements, as well as technical elements, script choice and editing.

“It’s hard to find one that will fit the time limit and the group of kids you’ve got,” she said.

“Moonfish” features a young woman and a man who work together at a Florida steakhouse. She follows him out to a dock on a lake, where moonfish congregate. “They’re trying to make a connection and work through the tragedy in both their lives,” Henning said, noting that the man witnessed his father’s suicide and the girl’s father was murdered.

The cast will have to make adjustments on the fly, which is part of the challenge.

“The thing about live theater is it’s different every single time, and something’s always out of your control,” said Kayla Bryan, who plays one of the moonfish.

The Birmingham theater is three times larger than Dunbar’s, and no microphones are allowed. “The kids have to learn to speak louder and clearer and slower,” said Kayla’s mother, Shirley Bryan, who also noted the crew will face unfamiliar light boards and sound equipment.

In addition to the competition, the regional conference will include workshops, college auditions (for high school juniors) and university interviews (for seniors).

“On top of getting this show down, a lot of these kids will be going with their resumes in hand, meeting people and interviewing,” said Bryan, who this week finished last-minute touch-ups on the moonfish costumes.

No school from Kentucky has ever won the regional contest, which is the largest high school play festival in the country. Henning is nonetheless confident of her students’ abilities and their chances in Birmingham.

“All of the kids are extremely committed to the show,” she said. “Bethany (Finley) does a great job working in the real world, the fish play in the surreal world, and Caleb (Hardy) moves back and forth between the two worlds. They all exhibit maturity in their performances far beyond their years.”

“It would be pretty amazing to win,” she added. “But I really try to help the kids understand that the real joy comes from going to the festival, seeing the other shows and performing the best that we possibly can. If they entertain the audience and feel that their performance was the best they could do, then that’s the reward. Anything else is just gravy.”

If you go

“Feeding the Moonfish”

• What: Encore performances of an award-winning play
• When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 and 2 p.m. March 1
• Where: James R. Halley Theatre at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
• Admission: $5 for students , $8 for adults (at the door)
• Note: This show contains mature themes and strong language and may not be appropriate for younger viewers.
• Contacts: Alicia Henning, PLD drama department sponsor, (859) 381-3546; or Shirley Bryan, volunteer coordinator, (859) 489-6530.

Preview 

The cast: Martin – Caleb Hardy; Eden – Bethany Finley; moonfish – Kayla Bryan, Catie Coldiron, Danielle Denniston and Rhiannon White.

The storyline: Eden and Martin work together at a Florida steakhouse. She follows him out to a dock on a lake, where moonfish congregate. “They’re trying to make a connection and work through the tragedy in both their lives,” said director Alicia Henning. Martin witnessed his father’s suicide, and Eden’s father was murdered by her mother and grandmother.

The moonfish: “The moonfish act as sort of siren-type characters. They are representative of Martin’s subconscious,” Henning said. “The play is an interesting combination of realism and surrealism.”

Memorable lines:

“She would have killed him anyway sooner or later.” – Eden, admitting her mother wasn’t really defending herself when she beat her husband with a waffle iron.

“You ain’t the only one who’s seen disgusting things in this world … I can tell you my father slit his throat!” – Martin, telling Eden about his father’s suicide.

“If I put my face to the water, I can see pieces of him.” – Martin, leaning over the edge of the pier as he remembers the body in the lake.

Online:

• Awards at the Kentucky festival: www.theatreky.org/2008winners.html
• Details on the Southeastern Theatre Conference: www.setc.org/festivals/highschool.php