Another front-page

column. Wow. I'm getting a big head. Actually, all it means is Sallie's

column has moved to the editorial page and I get to come off the back

pages and on to the front of the Weekend section.

I feel like

I should tackle a big topic or say something profound. And serious, not

just a humor column about penguins being destroyed by icebergs (though

that really is a serious topic).

There was recently

a lot of hoopla and controversy in the county about the region one-act

competition, which was filled with protests, accusations and the like.

I am not going to take sides, as I have seen and enjoyed both the shows

in question, McIntosh's "Godspell" and Fayette County High School's

"Pippin," and I am friendly with both directors at both schools.

I will however state that musicals that are originally two acts should

not be put into a one-act competition.

None of this

year's state champions in any of the five classes were musicals, though

several did place including Pebblebrook's production of "Pippin"

(try saying that five times fast), "Ragtime," "Little Shop

of Horrors," "Guys and Dolls," and "Guys and Dolls

Jr," which must be like the Muppet Babies cartoon, absolutely ridiculous

and annoying. I have nothing against musicals but when you are thinking

about entering the one-act competition, you shouldn't have to worry about

what to cut to fit the parameters.

This goes for

drama too. Imagine trying to trim "Hamlet" to one act. "We'll

skip the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern stuff, trim a little off this Ophelia

nonsense, speed up the play within a play,...Do we really need Polonius?"

A one-act play

is a shorter story with a tighter focus. It typically has a smaller cast

and therefore each performance is key. With a musical, if you have strong

voices in the leads, you will go far. You also don't have to be as strong

an actor. I recently saw "Aida" at the Fox and Paulette Ivory

(Aida) had a phenomenal voice but she was a less-than-phenomenal actress.

The show is still enjoyable and a success, but this illustrates that musicals

can be more forgiving.

It is also

important for the technical aspects of a one-act to be perfect and subtle,

while musicals can be more about spectacle. When you have a large chorus

singing and dancing, you are not paying as much attention to the lighting

or set design.

After hearing

about the disappointment and anger over the region one-act competition,

I began to wonder if there should even be a competition at all. Among

all the Georgia High School Association events that award region and state

champions, the one-act competition is the most subjective of them all.

In athletics, you score the most points or finish in the fastest time

to win. Even with gymnastics, judges examine the technique and subtract

points for minute mistakes. Is this how one-act is judged or does it all

fall on matter of opinion?

Think of the

three judges on the old game show "The Gong Show" and how they

all might have it in for the acts on stage. Granted, the acts were usually

terrible and deserved what they got, but what about other awards, like

the Oscars? Every year I disagree with several of the winners. It is based

on other's opinions. Therefore, schools shouldn't put as much credence

in what the judges say about the production, good or bad. After all, it

was just somebody's opinion.

I realize that

winning the competition is what the students shoot for and that nobody

will abandon the one act festival anytime soon, nor should they. However,

in addition to competing, the local schools should come together and have

a county drama festival, where citizens can come out and enjoy the productions

and support the schools.

As they head

out into the parking lot after the shows, the people will have their opinions

about what they liked and didn't like and nobody's feelings will get hurt.

Plus, split four ways, each school's drama department would get a nice

cut to add to their budget and they get to put on the production, which

they've worked their tails off on for several months, one more time.

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