Both rural Northern Minnesota schools that performed at the State One Act Play Festival on Feb. 6 and 7 were named starred performances by the judges.
Hibbing and Bagley were the only rural Northern Minnesota schools to advance to the state festival.
There is no competition between schools at the festival; rather companies try for a starred rating, meaning at least two of the three judges consider their performance to be of superior quality.
Bagley’s staging of an adaptation of the children's book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was one of four Class A starred performances.
Hibbing’s presentation of This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing, a play about triplet sisters left in the forest by their woodcutter father reconnecting 20 years later, was one of three starred performances in Class 2A.
Champions from each of the eight sections performed in the festival last week.
Teams were judged for "general effectiveness (which includes audience appeal), stage picture, blocking, characterization, stage business, pacing, interpretation, technical elements, and any other points that will help students improve their craft," according to the MSHSL.
