From WMS drama, regarding a free reprisal of “Perfect” to be performed at Wellesley Middle School, Thursday May 6 at 7pm:

Twenty two talented actors from the 7^th and 8^th grades at Wellesley Middle School won a gold medal in Mendon, MA on Saturday May 1 at the 2010 Massachusetts Middle School Drama Festival. They performed the short play “Perfect” by Alan Haehnel. Perfect is a play about growing up, meeting adversity and finally accepting yourself, warts and all.

The cast of 22 actors was chosen from around 40 students who tried out. The cast did a superb job at tackling difficult subject matter with tact and warmth. The production was seemingly effortless, which speaks of the students’ weeks of practice, of the talent and camaraderie of the cast and crew, and of the dedicated coaching of Ms. Leah Fine, who directed the production.

In addition to an overall Gold Medal trophy, 4 Actors won individual awards;

Anna Bortnick for her incredibly moving portrayal of Bethany, a girl finding herself and bringing the audience to tears. In the words of the judges, She provided the audience with a performance that was a “Masterclass in Acting.” For capturing the audience from start to finish with clarity, poise and such skill!

Natalie Totonchy for giving a mature portrayal of a mother experiencing the pleasure and pain of child rearing.

Katie Horblit for her interpretation of an incredibly bratty kindergartener, for commiting so honestly to this supporting role that was small, but memorable, and Nobska Goodhue for her spot on performance as a “valley girl” tween, for creating a very real character from a stereotypical situation

A member of the tech team, Nick Jaczko, won a special award for Sound Design and Execution for finding music to set the tone of the play from the beginning, along with appropriate and well executed cues.