JM spring theater workshop offers free performances of "The Lottery"

SILER CITY, N.C. — Free performances of “The Lottery” will be offered in March as part of the second-annual spring theater workshop at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City.

“The Lottery” is a 30-minute, one-act play based on the short story by Shirley Jackson and dramatized by Brainerd Duffield. It will be performed for students during school on March 26 and then for the public that evening at 7 p.m.

After the short story was published in The New Yorker magazine, “The Lottery” quickly became an internationally known classic. The play follows the original short story, beginning with people assembling for a lottery. But only as the story builds swiftly to its climax do audiences begin to suspect the nature of the lottery. The shattering final scene has brought both the story and play wide acclaim. 

The annual spring theater workshop was created by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, to provide outstanding JM actors with an opportunity for more intensive dramatic work and experience in technical theater. Last year’s inaugural workshop, “Scene X Scene,” featured weekly, two-hour sessions focusing on working “scene by scene” and concluded with a free public showcase performance demonstrating acting exercises used during the workshop.

“The Lottery” and this year’s theater workshop are produced by JMArts with co-producer and technical director Nicholas Guariglia and director Jessica Nunn.

Co-producer and technical director Guariglia is a JM graduate, senior in the UNC Department of Dramatic Art and undergraduate lighting assistant with PlayMakers Repertory Company, the renowned regional theater based in Chapel Hill. He is working on this project through the Carolina Center for Public Service with funding from a MacDonald Community Fellowship.

Director Nunn, also a JM graduate, directs the school’s fall musicals and taught last year’s “Scene X Scene” spring theater workshop. She also is artistic director of The Phoenix Theatre Company, known locally for innovative productions including dinner theater murder mysteries and “Miracle on Hillsboro Street,” an annual holiday benefit performance staged at the historic Chatham County Courthouse.

Auditions for this year’s workshop will be held on February 18 to select the cast of about 13 actors. Rehearsals will be after school, about twice a week during March. A more detailed rehearsal schedule will be announced before auditions.

More information about JMArts and other events scheduled for this season is available at jmarts.org.

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Laci Burt, from left, Natalie Santiago and Hannah Redding work on a dramatic scene during last year’s “Scene X Scene” spring theater workshop at Jordan-Matthews High School.

Third-annual “Sing and Play” student musical competition set for February

SILER CITY, N.C. — “Sing and Play,” the third-annual musical competition for students from elementary through high school, will be held next month at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City.

Instrumental and vocal acts will compete for a $50 prize awarded for the best performance in each of three age categories — elementary, middle school and high school. Acts may be individuals or ensembles up to four people, with all performers being full-time students in a North Carolina public, private or home school.

Auditions will be held at Jordan-Matthews on February 4 beginning at 3:30 p.m., when a panel of judges will select four to six acts in each age category to perform in the competition. Each act selected during auditions must pay a $10 registration fee to enter the competition. Individuals and ensembles wanting to audition must register online by January 28.

The “Sing and Play” showcase competition concert will be February 20, at 6:30 p.m., in the Jordan-Matthews Auditorium. Immediately after the performances, winners will be selected by audience vote. General admission is $5 per person and includes one vote in each category.

An overview of the competition — including rules and a link to the registration form — is available online at jmarts.org/s/SingAndPlayRules20.pdf.

“Sing and Play” is a fundraiser for JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, a nonprofit created to provide what student artists need to excel.

Money raised by the competition will be used by JMArts for educational projects, including its third-annual New York Arts Adventure. Scheduled over spring break, the educational trip to New York City gives a group of upperclass musicians, actors and visual artists an opportunity to explore one of the world’s great cities, experience the very best in the arts and gain new perspectives and experiences that will influence their lives and work. Several world-class actors, musicians and critics will meet with JM artists during the five-day adventure.  

More information about JMArts and other events scheduled for this season is available at jmarts.org.

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Winners of Sing and Play ’19 celebrate with master of ceremonies Sydney Suits. Selected as winners by audience vote were, from left, Jennifer Trejo Benitez from Jordan-Matthews High School, Buck and Maggie Thornton from Chatham Middle School, master of ceremonies Suits, and Jack and Jillian Dixon from Silk Hope School. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Sing and Play logo

Registration opens for Sing and Play '20 musical competition

SILER CITY, N.C. — Registration is now open for Sing and Play ’20, the third-annual musical competition scheduled for February at Jordan-Matthews High School.

Sing and Play highlights musical talent in separate competitions for elementary, middle and high school musicians. Vocalists and instrumentalists who are students in a North Carolina public, private or home school may register through January 28 to receive an audition appointment and perform either as an individual or in an ensemble of up to four musicians.

Acts selected during auditions on February 4 will participate in the Sing and Play ’20 Showcase Competition on February 20, where audience members will select the winner in each age-based competition. General admission to the showcase is $5 per person. Each of the three winning acts receives a $50 cash prize.

Rules and registration information are available online at JMArts.org/events/.

“It's such a pleasure to be part of Sing and Play each year,” said Greg Burriss, who returns as director of this year's competition. “To see these young people learn and grow through this process brings all of us a lot of joy. Sing and Play gives these young performers a chance to experience the audition process and to perform in front of supportive mentors. It's a wonderful educational opportunity."

Sing and Play ’19 winners were Jack and Jillian Dixon of Silk Hope School, Buck and Maggie Thornton of Chatham Middle School and Jennifer Trejo Benitez of Jordan-Matthews High School.

Sing and Play is produced by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation. All proceeds from the event are used by JMArts to help high school artists thrive. More about the foundation and competition is available online at JMArts.org.

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Jennifer Trejo Benitez, now a senior at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City, won the Sing and Play ’19 high school competition back in February. She recently performed on stage as the Witch in the school’s production of “Into the Woods." (Photo by Chip Pate)

Winners of Sing and Play ’19 celebrate with master of ceremonies Sydney Suits. Selected as winners by audience vote were, from left, Jennifer Trejo Benitez from Jordan-Matthews High School, Buck and Maggie Thornton from Chatham Middle School, master of ceremonies Suits, and Jack and Jillian Dixon from Silk Hope School. (Photo by Chip Pate)