Cast members on stage in Lincoln Academy’s 2026 One Act Play “Runner” (Photo by Neptune Martin ’26)

Lincoln Academy’s 2026 One Act Play, “Runner” took third place at the Class A Regional Drama Festival, which took place at Camden Hills Regional High School on March 6 and 7. 

“This cast did a great job at the Festival,” said LA Theater Director Griff Braley. “Only one of them had ever participated in a One Act Competition before, and they achieved an excellent result. They were doing everything for the first time, from facing time limits to inhabiting a very large performance space. Many students came away ready to take on 2027!”  

“We didn’t feel ready before the festival, but when it came time for our performance, we knew we had to get it right, and we did!” said junior cast member Micah Bassett.

In addition to winning third place overall, Lincoln Academy cast members Addison McCafferty and Finn Sullivan received acting awards, the production received an award for costumes, as well as an Ensemble Movement Award.

“Runner” is an original script from 1988. Mr. Braley wrote the script for former students, then re-wrote it for the Lincoln Academy ensemble, updating and shaping the story and characters to fit the students who auditioned for this year. 

To prepare for their first time at the Festival, students studied the script, made suggestions, and built a scale model of Camden Hills High School’s Strom Auditorium. This helped with discussions about set, blocking stage pieces, and the need for projection, and acting style in the large auditorium. 

Maine’s One Act Play Festival is an annual event organized and overseen, like athletics, by the Maine Principals Association. This year the MPA’s new rubric includes detailed descriptors, allowing students to “check their work” along the way and prepare for their first time adjudication with judges. 

One Act performances are rated by judges not only on acting, but on production features as well: each play can be no longer than 40 minutes long, and cast and crew have five minutes to install the entire set and five minutes to tear it down after the production. 

“Lighting and sound can be particularly challenging on the road,” said Braley, “every theater is different, and we need to be prepared to take a play that we have only rehearsed in our intimate Poe Theater to a space like Camden, which is triple the size of our stage.”

Lincoln Academy Theater Tech Director Ryan Kohnert prepared freshman Erin McCorkle, a first-time light operator, to tackle a sophisticated light plot, which received strong positive feedback from judges. 

The cast performed their own set changes and sound cues from the wings of the stage, keeping the whole ensemble busy throughout the play.

“We achieved a lot for a group of people who had never been to the One Acts before, and we really earned the achievements we had,” said sophomore cast member Natalie Friel. “Next year we will build on the experience we gained in the Festival. We have a group of people in the theater program who are dedicated and we will build our skills over time. I have a lot of hope for the future!”

The cast and crew of “Runner” include: Eleanor Gagne, Eliza Chase, Katelyn Prior, Ruby Desmond, Finn Sullivan, Tryston Lambert, Natalie Friel, Fina Soucier, Addison McCafferty, Micah Bassett, Oliver Browning, Emma Wooster, Evelyn Herrick (costumes/cast), Wynn Heninger, Erin MacCorkle (lighting), and Allie Ferreira (costumes/crew).

Photos by Neptune Martin ’26. Full album is available on Flickr.