Kathy Andersen

and Millie Turek, a drama director and the choral director, respectively,

at Sandy Creek High School wanted to do something different this year.

Usually, the fall is reserved for a one act play headed for competition,

a longer play is produced in the winter and a musical is presented in

the spring. This year, Sandy Creek will kick things off with a Madrigal

Dinner that will involve drama students, choral students and members of

the Fayette Youth Chorale.

A Madrigal

Dinner is like old time dinner theatre. Really old time, like the renaissance.

There is acting, singing, dancing interspersed throughout a meal and the

actors interact with the audience throughout the show. For instance, as

guests arrive they are given a title and the performers may direct some

dialogue to the audience or ask for their help.

"A Madrigal

Dinner focuses on the culture of an era, without having to deal with the

constraints of something like a Shakespearean play," said Andersen.

"This is less formal and more fun." It will definitely be a

lot of fun. Along with performances from the choruses, there is the ongoing

story of a jester who has been challenged for his job, a stuffed dragon

and a dancing unicorn.

"We hope

to make this a yearly occurrence and to keep adding to it," said

Andersen, who is helming the production which features over 80 people.

Recently, the

cast went on a weekend retreat to Rock Eagle to get the show ready. They

squeezed about two weeks of rehearsal into two days and came together

as a cast. The students seem very excited for the production and see the

challenges of maintaining a dialect, fencing and interacting with the

audience as part of the fun of the project.

The Madrigal

Dinner will take place at The Barn in Tyrone on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. Admission

is $15 and includes admission to the dinner and the show. Proceeds from

the Madrigal Dinner will go to furnishing Patriot Hall with the things

that will not be covered in the School Board's budget.

Sandy Creek

has a lot lined up this year. After the Madrigal Dinner, they hope to

perform a shortened version of Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin

Agile," present a coffeehouse featuring student written or directed

features, an evening of ImprovOlympics, a Readers Theatre and two small

film festivals. There will be more productions announced at a later date.

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