“Othello” wins Region 6-AA One-Act title and places third in state

For the third consecutive year, Darlington School has won first place at the Region 6-AA One-Act Competition, but after performing at this year’s state competition in Leesburg, Ga., they can add a third-place win to their credentials.

“I am thrilled to have directed the last three one-acts and to have been rewarded for the sheer commitment and raw talent of my casts,” said Marisa Ortega, drama and English teacher. “Working with these students truly is the best part of my day because of their unwavering commitment and enthusiasm for drama.”

Going into the region competition, the cast, crew and director felt confident that “Othello” was a special show.

“We had worked for weeks to conquer the language, and because we had the entire play behind us, our characters were completely three-dimensional. Our actors were polished vocally and physically, and the simplicity and symbolic nature of the set and music foregrounded the action and the language,” said Ortega. “I knew that including Act III [in our one-act performance] was imperative because it is so climactic.”

The scene begins with Iago’s opening monologue in Act I.

“Before the competition, I performed my monologue in front of Mrs. Ortega four different times to get me in the ‘mood of Iago,’” said senior Timmy Pakron. “[Because we picked up in the middle of Act III,] the hard part was building up the energy that we couldn’t do before we started.”

The focus of the performance was Othello, Iago, Desdemona and Emilia.

“Mrs. Ortega already knew the part of the story she wanted us to tell, I helped her with a few of the cuts and then we came together as a cast and decided if those cuts worked,” said senior Brandon Goodman, who won Best Actor at the state compeition for his portrayal of Othello. “My favorite scene has to be the scene where Othello strangles Iago. It is one of the most intense and heart-twisting scenes in the production.

“As an actor, [the three consecutive region wins] let me know that my work is good and allow me to know that no matter what anyone says, I have a God-given talent,” he continued. “It feels amazing to be a part of a winning team for three years in a row, and out of the three productions we have taken to state, I never felt as confident as I did with this one.”

While Rockmart High School has posed as Darlington’s biggest competition over the last three years, Darlington managed to secure first place at region.

“[Rockmart’s show] ‘Dark of the Moon’ was brilliant and beautiful. We suspected that it would come down to our shows, but I think because we handled the difficulty of Shakespeare, we narrowly edged Rockmart,” said Ortega.

One judge said in his notes to the director, “Your cast and crew are to be commended for sinking their teeth into this so voraciously. The performance transcended high school drama many times.”

Ortega, pleased with the outcome of the region and state competitions, said she always approaches the fall play as a learning tool, both for herself and for her students.

“For the last three years, we have tackled challenging classics to bring to life. Our script choices alone distinguish us from our region,” she said. “If we are remotely successful in giving these complicated texts a pulse, then I have done my job as a teacher more than as a director.”

Pakron, who has performed in the last two region-winning performances, had a good feeling “Othello” would place in the state competition.

“Our dedication and passion for drama is amazing,” he said.

For further information, please contact Ortega at mortega@darlingtonschool.org .