NORTHFIELD — Students will grace the auditorium stage at Pioneer Valley Regional School with two student-produced, one-act plays Friday night.
The plays, starting at 7 p.m., are “Adagio and the Death of Love” and “The Lottery,” each with its own cast. Tickets for the night cost $8 for adults and $5 for students, with proceeds going directly back into the drama program.
“Students have been rehearsing for almost eight weeks,” said English teacher Brian Campbell, who is in his first year of overseeing Pioneer’s drama program.
Campbell said the performers are in the midst of dress rehearsals. Students are involved in every aspect of the production from collaborative work on costumes, to props and set design.
“We have a lot of kids who are interested in lighting this year,” he said.
The plays are directed by Campbell, and the production includes students from all grade levels at the school, though middle schoolers represent the majority.
“We teach ‘The Lottery’ as part of the short story unit in the eighth grade,” Campbell said of the younger students’ interest.
“The Lottery” is a Shirley Jackson short story that was adapted to script by Brainerd Duffield. It was first published in the New Yorker on June 26, 1948.
“The Lottery” takes place in a small, fictional town in contemporary America, which observes an annual rite known as “the lottery.” This lottery chooses a sacrificial victim to be stoned to death to ensure the rest of the community’s continued well-being and a good harvest. However, some other villages have already discontinued the lottery, and rumors are spreading that a village farther north is considering doing likewise.
The story has been adapted and dramatized several times, and subjected to sociological and literary analysis. “The Lottery” warns of the dangers of mob mentality, and fear of straying from traditions despite their consequences.
Meanwhile, “Adagio and the Death of Love” by Reid Conrad tells the story of the Imarovas, who were once the royal family and held sway over the social and political arenas of the country.
The story takes place when a new regime gained power, and the Imarova children became captives in their own home. They live under a repressive guard, yet each sibling remembers or knows a different kind of love: romantic love, paid love, love of a child and pet, and Anabella’s childlike love of life itself.
Last year, students performed “The Diary of Anne Frank,” though the fall play is typically a shorter play, about an hour in length, Campbell said. Pioneer students will also perform a musical in the spring, though Campbell said it is still undecided which one.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.