PEABODY — Peabody Veterans Memorial High School’s Stage One drama club won the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s (METG) state championship for the third year in a row last weekend.
The group’s 55 students performed Lynn Nottage’s “Clyde’s” at the festival where they competed against 15 other schools at the John Hancock Building in Boston.
Stage One earned the top prize along with Milton High School’s production of Claire Epstein’s “Too Many Daughters: A Jane Austen Parody” and Stoughton High School’s production of Naomi Iizuka’s “Anon(ymous)”.
“We are incredibly proud of the cast and crew of the Stage One Drama Club for winning their third consecutive METG state championship,” Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala told The Daily Item. “Their consistent pursuit of excellence is a testament to the hard work and dedication of this entire group.”
Stage One topped the METG competition in 2024 for their production of Samuel D. Hunter’s “The Whale” and in 2023 for Federico García Lorca’s “Yerma”.
“Clyde’s” follows a truck stop diner run by the eponymous hardheaded owner and her formerly incarcerated employees looking for a second chance by perfecting the craft of sandwich-making.
“I was blown away by the amazing ability and skill. The acting was unbelievable, the stage work, the production, lighting, sound, the scenery was great,” Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. “It was very much adult content and some of it was difficult, but the performance was just amazing… We have incredible performing arts.”
PVHMS drama director and teacher Stephanie Manning expressed the department’s excitement for the state championship win, and the school celebrated with a final performance Monday night.
Students also brought home a slew of individual awards from the weekend’s competition.
These awards included Matheus Muniz for Excellence in Acting for the role of Rafael and Emy Sousa Santos for Excellence in Acting for the role of Leticia.
Technical awards included Kaelyn Veltry for Technical Excellence in Movement Coordination, Cat Quaresma, Livia Gjini, and Syd Topham-Williams for Technical Excellence in Scenic Design, Tempi Reed for Technical Excellence in Culinary Management, Maya Yaffe for Technical Excellence in Lighting Design & Cue Execution, and Patrick Stanton and Sahelys Taveras for Technical Excellence in Sound Design & Cue Execution.
