Masquers Hope For A Brief Encounter With Success

The newspapers won't print their brackets but don't let that fool you. This competition has all the drama of March Madness, maybe even more.

The Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild (METG) will hold its State Drama Festival semifinals Saturday at seven sites across the state. North Reading, Stoneham, Norwood, Quabbin, Andover, along with host Westford Academy will compete at one site and two schools will move on to the finals.

According to North Reading theatre advisor Allison Kane, Saturday's event is both a competition and a festival. It started with more than 200 schools across the state. Each performed March 4 at venues all over the state with eight or nine schools at each site. There were three judges and the top three schools at each site moved on to the semifinals. The finals are a three-day competition starting Thur., March 30, in Boston at the Back Bay Center on Berkeley Street.

North Reading's drama group is called the Masquers and Saturday in the METG semifinals they'll perform Noel Coward's Brief Encounter at 2:30 p.m. It's a long day for the participants. Members of Masquers meet at 7:15 a.m. at the high school and won't return to North Reading until after the awards are presented at 6:30 p.m.

And with the competition being student driven, leadership is important. Masquers officers include President Val Stebbins, Vice-President Tasha Kittredge, Secretary Maggie O'Donnell. Treasurer Olivia Shapiro, Historian Michela Prisco, and Reading Committee Neva Ventullo, Michelle Shang, and Avery Desrosiers.