Turner Ashby’s one-act play, Anatomy of Gray, might as well be called Anatomy of Winning since winning is all the TAHS theatre troupe has known since it started performing in the fall. After earning the top award in the Valley District and Region III competitions, the company captured TAHS’s first VHSL state theatre championship in December.

Andrew Raines and Megan Clinedinst

Along with the team’s victory, Megan Clinedinst and Andrew Raines both earned individual best acting awards in the state competition.

“Their performances have steadily improved as the play progressed in competition.  I am very proud of [Andrew and Megan] and the entire company!” praised director, Cecille Deason, TAHS’s drama and theatre teacher. “We work hard, pick good plays and take it very seriously.”

Anatomy of Grey is set in the 1800′s in the small, “boring” town of Gray, Indiana. After 15-year-old June Muldoon loses her father, she prays for a “healer” for her community, and one – who subsequently saves her life – quite literally falls from the sky during a tornado. The town, particularly its female population, is awestruck by the new doctor, Galen P. Gray, who brings medicine and knowledge along with a queasy stomach at the site of blood to the isolated community. Skepticism towards the doctor soon grows in some and heightens when a plague strikes the tiny town.

TAHS Anatomy of Gray

A full length play such as Anatomy of Gray is not typically selected by schools in one-act competitions where a very strict 35-minute time limit on performances is imposed. Many choose plays specifically written as one-act plays.  So, recounting this story in such a short amount of time might seem a daunting task to most. But Mrs. Deason saw it as the perfect fit for her students.

“I always edit down a longer play to the required 35 minutes.  The plays are usually of better quality when they are longer and have more and better developed characters.  I read a lot of plays to find the perfect one and when I read this one, it was in one sitting and kept me in the story the whole time.  When I finished, I just knew!” explained Mrs. Deason.

And the results speak for themselves.  While most state champions might be resting on their laurels at this point, the Turner Ashby thespians are still rehearsing and still competing. In October, they added yet another feather to their cap by winning at the prestigious Virginia Theatre Association Secondary School Festival, an event with 40 schools competing for the top honor and chance to represent Virginia in the Southeastern Theatre Association’s High School Theatre Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee in March. There, Turner Ashby and runner-up Stafford High School, along with the top two teams from nine other southeastern states, will compete for the Southeastern Region’s “Best Play” award.

It would be fair to expect a certain amount of weariness shown among the 13 cast and crew members at this point. But it’s not present, according to Mrs. Deason.

“I’ve never rehearsed a play for so long – it’s crazy! We did the show last week for the dinner theatre with 3 rehearsals and we hadn’t done it since December 6.  It went well – the kids are connected to the story, so it didn’t take too much extra work.”

She adds that the SETC competition allows for a performance longer than 35 minutes so they will incorporate more into their Tennessee performance.

As rehearsals continue for Anatomy of Gray, most of the students are also heavily engaged in the school’s musical, Wonderful Town, to be presented in mid-February. Mrs. Deason directs this as well, and multitasking seems to be a way of life for all of them these days.

“Last week when we were prepping for dinner theatre we had rehearsal for both musical and one-act every day.  It makes for a crazy schedule!  The kids are used to working hard though and are also involved in band, forensics and take hard classes!”

Congratulations to Mrs. Deason and the entire cast and crew of Anatomy of Gray! (See more of their pictures in a slide show!)

Megan Clinedinst – Tiny Wingfield
Shelly Cochrane – June Muldoon
Katie Dove – Light Board Operator
Abboe Early – Assistant Director
Katie Frank – Spotlight Operator
Megan Holden – Belva Collins
Colin McLaughlin – Dr. Galen P Gray
Sonya Morris – Rebecca Muldoon
Lucy Parks – Maggie
Jason Propst – Homer
Andrew Raines – Crutch Collins
Alex Roll – Backstage Technician
Aaron Stapel – Preacher Phineas Wingfield

Cast of Anatomy of Gray with Mrs. Deason