Willowbrook students win trophy at state drama meet in Springfield
By Chris Fox
Lombardian-Villa Park Review Staff Reporter
A cast and crew of about 75 Willowbrook High School students won a third-place trophy at the IHSA drama and group interpretation state competition, which took place March 24-25 at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Competing in the drama division at the state meet, the students presented a portion of the play “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice” by Jim Cartwright in Springfield on March 24. Willowbrook qualified for the state event with its second-place finish at the six-team Reavis Sectional at Burbank’s Reavis High School on March 18. The top two teams in the drama division from the each of the state’s six sectionals earned berths in the state meet.
A cast and crew of Willowbrook students also participated in last year’s state meet. The students earned a sixth-place finish in the 2016 drama competition.
Willowbrook delivered its state-meet presentation on March 24 in the Sangamon Auditorium. A panel of five judges evaluated each of the 12 competing teams. Reavis won the first-place trophy, while Oak Lawn earned second place. Reavis and Oak Lawn actually finished in a tie with seven points each. Reavis won the tiebreaking judges’ preference vote.
Willowbrook finished just one point behind Reavis and Oak Lawn with a total of eight points, which came from the placement awarded by the five judges, throwing out the highest and lowest scores. With the highest and lowest scores discarded, one judge ranked Willowbrook’s as the top performance (1 point), while the two other judges ranked the school at third (3 points) and fourth (4 points) out of the 12 teams.
Cartwright’s dramatic comedy is set in northern England in the early 1990s. “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice” tells the story of Little Voice—portrayed by junior Julia Cicero. Little Voice is a shy girl who struggles to find her confidence and finds comfort in listening to her late father’s record collection. While listening to the records alone in her room, Little Voice practices her impressions of famous singers, including Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
As the play unfolds, Little Voice’s overbearing mother Mari, played by junior Genevieve Corkery, begins dating a small-time talent agent (portrayed by senior Anthony Clampit). The talent agent attempts to use Little Voice’s talents to achieve fame and fortune. Little Voice, however, is more interested in sharing a quiet and simple life with someone who loves her.
An electrician named Billy (played by junior John DeAngelo) who works on lighting during Little Voice’s performances helps Little Voice on her journey. The two characters develop a growing romance.
Cicero, Corkery and DeAngelo received All-State honors for their performances on the stage in Springfield. Seniors Owen Allen and Camille Claudio earned All-State sound awards, while juniors Marissa Fairbank and Daniel Moses received All-State lighting awards.
