After arriving at Wareham High School at 6:30 in the morning, I was not sure exactly what the rest of the long day I had ahead of me would involve. I predicted attitudes of exhaustion, gilded with nervousness for the talented drama members I was about to spend the day with. However, after taking my seat on the bus, I was instantly proved wrong.

The bus was packed with over 40 WHS students who were involved in this major undertaking. Despite leaving at the ungodly hour of 7 am, they were spirited, a trait they carried with them throughout the day.

I was handed a small sheet of paper that outlined the agenda for the day and included a list of “hot words.” The concept of hot words began with Wareham student Joey Bazinet last year. There is a certain time designated for each word. If that particular word is said at all within the time period, everyone proceeded to start yelling and flailing their arms in the air.The bus ride could have been one boring hour with a group of tired teens, but it was far from it. Jenn O’Donnell began raising enthusiasm (first hot word: “ahhhh”) by getting everyone to sing some popular songs such as “I Will Survive” and “Lean on Me.” Donuts provided by the directors simply added to the excitement. By the time we arrived at Scituate High School at 8:30, the bus had the aroma of sugar mixed with an atmosphere of excitement.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by the host drama students from Scituate HS. They were dressed elegantly in costumes from the movie “Chicago” and our assigned room correspondingly had the hit soundtrack playing. After settling in, the five schools that were not performing or getting ready for a performance at the time gathered in the auditorium to watch the first show, “The Closet Society” by Scituate HS.

First, three students read the rules on stage and each was followed with a clap from the audience (a tradition). This was done before every show and the fervor found in each clap never failed to cease throughout the day.

Wareham got ready to go on stage around noon. Prior to this, they prepped for the show with pep talks from Mr. Flynn and Mr. Bliss. Mr. Bliss encouraged the actors saying, “We are excellent because we are enthusiastic,” and with these words the group joined in a giant group hug before going to perform.

Many students present were not new to this event. Jenn O’Donnell, a WHS junior, was enjoying her third year at festival. “I love meeting new people, there is nothing I don’t like about Festival, it is always a good time,” she said. However, the first-year thespians had no problem fitting right in, especially since it seemed that every person there was genuinely kind and pleasant.

This year, the schools involved at Scituate were all entered as non-competitive, which meant that there would be no ranking or determination for whom would continue on to higher levels of competition.

Scituate drama advisor Bates Wilder shared his opinion of why he feels a noncompetitive site is important.

“A group can learn from six to seven other schools’ experiences, and visit their theater world seeing what is different and what does or doesn’t work,” explained Mr. Wilder.

Wilder went on to say that he felt it released a certain tension and the competition of “who is better” was somewhat less. The atmosphere certainly was not tense, leading me to believe that the non-competitive site was a good idea.

After all of the plays, pizza was served in the cafeteria and students got a chance to mingle. I sat with a student who coincidentally stayed in Wareham over the summer. Each student had his or her own interesting story, and it helped me realize how there are very similar people outside of good old Wareham.

After pizza, everyone was evenly divided, and each group went to a different room to discuss the performances they had seen that day. This was a good chance to see how each play was interpreted. I sat in Wareham’s room, while Mr. Bliss led the discussion.

First, commendations and compliments were given, then those from the group that performed the play being discussed talked about what they thought was good or could have been done better.

Around 7 pm, all the hard working drama students, and one tired journalist, enjoyed a dance on the stage, where everyone frolicked and talked until around 9:30. Following this was an awards ceremony.

I observed the true congrats that each thespian who got an award received. However, it was not just polite claps from disappointed actors and actresses. When a name was called for an award, every student in the entire auditorium instantly jumped up, shouting, and applauding to the best of their ability. Wareham received three awards and an equal amount of praise from the audience every time.

The awards ceremony marked the end of the evening. The bus ride returning home was more subdued, especially since it was close to 11 pm when we arrived back at WHS.

Festival was like nothing I have ever been involved in before. I was amazed by the graciousness of every person I encountered. It was a terrific learning experience for all of those involved. I learned how things can be looked at from another perspective and that competition does not always bring out the best in us.