Mimms (Madison DeBernardi - center) is in the hot seat after Presley York "died." The group concluded he ate a poisoned cookie served by Mimms. No one seemed to notice the body of Margaret LaRue (Bethany Johnson - far left) propped up and hidden by a lamp shade. This was the first of many accusations and failed conclusions in the murder mystery put on by the Seeley Lake Elementary drama class.
Presley York (Dylan Wilkerson), a famous musician, gets the party started for all the guests. Dr. Prince (Sam Ayers) is quick to bust a move before York collapsed on the floor.
The final four at the party turn on Matthew Charisma (Hunter Davenport) calling him the murderer. Twins Heather Starlett (Angel Bruton) and Holly Starlett (Alison Kilpatrick) tie him up when Delores Biggs (Amaiya Dalrymple) holds him at gun point.
With Delores Biggs (Amaiya Dalrymple) collapsed on the couch and Matthew Charisma (Hunter Davenport) on the floor, members of the party start to return. Everyone had devised their own plan to avoid the mysterious murder and now were coming back to see "who done it."
Clayhorn (Wesley Stevenson) points to the chocolate éclair cake served by the 21st century Culinary Class before the play. The cast greeted attendees as they came in and sixth graders Bailey Bartlett and Cody Mason (right two) served desserts.
SEELEY LAKE – Tuesday, March 19 the Seeley Lake Elementary drama class treated the community to dessert and the murder mystery "And Then There Was One, A Spoof," that left everyone a suspect and no one guilty. Drama teacher Sharon Teague said she loves watching the magic happen on the day of the performance and seeing the students come together and support one another.
The third quarter drama elective is an opportunity for sixth through eighth grade students to learn all aspects of putting on a play. Teague said the students are involved in every step of the production from choosing the play, planning the costumes, set and props, creating the sound effects and running the sound and lighting for the play.
"They learned how to turn thrift store finds into costumes, how to paint realistic scenery and design the set to work on our stage on a shoestring budget," wrote Teague in an email.
Teague said the grand vision for the play starts with her.
"The cast will tell you I can be a tyrant!" wrote Teague. "I push them hard to learn their lines, hit their cues and how to actually act their parts onstage. They don't realize their own potential and I push them hard to discover what they can really accomplish."
However, on performance day, Teague said the students take all the weeks of practice and hard work and make it theirs.
"I heard them giving each other pep talks back stage, prompting lines when their castmates forgot, and helping with props for the next scene," wrote Teague. "Actors were covering for each other's missed lines, sometimes creating entirely new sections of dialogue when several lines got dropped and even improvising when unplanned things
happened on and off set. Students that might not even be close friends in their daily life become a cohesive, supportive unit in those moments during a production."
Prior to the play, members of the cast greeted those in attendance. Parents, friends and family enjoyed chocolate éclair cake and coffee made by the 21st Century Culinary Club before the lights dimmed and the production began.
The audience watched as one by one, the 10 people from all walks of life ended up dead or missing after being invited to a secluded mansion for a weekend party. While they each had their own plan to escape the murder, it wasn't until the final scene that they reunited and accepted the challenge posed by the illusive man who threw the party to write the perfect murder mystery for $10,000.
Following the play, the students told Teague how much fun it was and they wished they could do it again. A few had never performed in front of people before. For others it was a chance to be a part of a group and challenge themselves because they didn't think they could do it in the beginning.
"I'm so proud of all the kids and the work they put into this," said Teague following the performance. "They all did such a great job."
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