The cast of Boston Latin School theatre’s Wojtek: The Happy Warrior took their final bow at the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival on March 9. The students performed alongside over 100 other plays, all vying for a spot at the semifinals.
The Massachusetts High School Drama Festival is a competition in which stwojudents perform and are judged upon a short — no more than 40 minute — play in order to determine if they will move on to the next level of competition. There are three levels: preliminary, semifinal and state finals, with the top two state finalists representing Massachusetts at the New England Drama Festival.
When discussing the differences between shows for the festival and other shows BLS theatre presents throughout the year, crew member Meya Splaine (III) elaborates that “the [festival] shows are sometimes more serious and they spend time researching and learning about the topic and it leaves more of an impact.”
BLS theatre has competed at the festival for several years. The most recent shows include PLEASE LEAVE (a message) in 2024 and Qrumpets in 2023. This year, the cast brought new life to the stage with the dynamic and surprisingly true story of Wojtek: The Happy Warrior.
The play follows the life of a bear named Wojtek during World War II. When his mother is killed by hunters, a group of Polish soldiers from the 2nd Polish Corps take the bear in, treating him as one of their own. When the time comes for the soldiers to go on a campaign in Italy, they are faced with the issue of not being allowed to bring any “pets” on board their boat. Unwilling to leave Wojtek behind, the Polish army decided to “enlist” him. And so, Private Wojtek of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company set out to Italy. After Wojtek survived the campaign and World War II ended, he lives out his remaining years at a zoo.
BLS theatre seamlessly blended the silly prospect of a bear in the army with the serious matter of the occupation of Poland in World War II. The production stood out in its dynamic combination of speaking, singing and playing instruments. The resourceful use of props, such as long sticks to convey a train and boat, and the metal buckets and mulch to show battle on the front lines, was an insightful use of conceptual and interpretive theatre. The students also had excellent physicality, demonstrated through their individual portrayals of the bear Wojtek. Even with minimal costumes, the performers enhanced the show and immersed the audience.
The festival itself came with some restrictions on the technical aspects of the show. The actors and crew only had five minutes before and after the show to put up and take down all sets. Since the crew was performing in an unfamiliar theater, they had to adapt the lighting design on competition day. BLS theatre nevertheless rose to the challenge, winning awards for their excellence in set, acting and sound.
“I think my favorite moment of [the festival] was the five minutes of setup, like it was really stressful, but it was super exhilarating,” explains BLS theatre actor and Head of Props Tobias Martin (II).
Although Wojtek: The Happy Warrior did not move on to the semifinals competition, BLS theatre still brought an interesting and conceptual piece of artwork to the stage that impacted audiences despite their minimal sets and costumes. Furthermore, actors, crew members and students in the audience alike enjoyed supporting the show and seeing the work of several other schools on the day of the competition.
When discussing what makes the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival special, BLS theatre director Kayla Campbell (I) explains, “We know nothing about other schools, but getting to see their theatre program is probably one of my favorite parts of [the festival].”