Perpich Arts High School Theater Department Presents “Neo-Futurists Rip-Off” and “4 Ten-Minute Plays” Senior Capstone

L to R: Maeve Filkins (Theater 2024), Charli Pedersen (Musical Theater 2025), and Maggie Loxtercamp (Musical Theater 2024) in “Playwriting 101” by Rich Orloff, directed by Miah Reimann (Theater 2024)

May 22, 2024

The Perpich Arts High School Theater Department presented “Neo-Futurists Rip-Off” and “4 Ten-Minute Plays” as their Senior Capstone performance on Thursday, May 16th and Friday, May 17th. For “Neo-Futurists Rip-Off”, the Theater Seniors from the Class of 2024 took inspiration from their Chicago workshop and performance with the Neo-futurist Theater and created their own (ripped-off) version of Neo-futurist structures, making their own rowdy, gutsy, free-for-all party of live theater. “It was truly an example of showing what you know,” said Tory Peterson, Theater Instructor. For “4 Ten-Minute Plays”, the Theater Seniors directed the Theater Ensemble, each taking one of the plays as their own.

“Everything you view tonite [sic] is student created or driven,” Peterson wrote in the event program. “As the educator, my time is spent asking questions of the casts; ‘What do the characters want? What is stopping them from achieving their want? What tactics (way) does your character go about trying to achieve this want?…What hinders you? Why now? What’s the urgency in the play?’ I would suggest possible solutions but more readily remind them of theater vocabulary that should push them towards a solution. This is the ‘show me what you know’ from their year(s) of classes and productions. Students show their understanding, define who they are, and start playing ‘what if’ again.”

Maeve Filkins (Theater 2024) in “Playwriting 101” by Rich Orloff, directed by Miah Reimann (Theater 2024)

Reflecting on their “Neo-Futurists Rip-Off” production, the seniors wrote, “When the four of us seniors took a school trip to Chicago, we attended a Neo-Futurist show and quickly became infatuated with the concept. Our first words after the show were ‘we need to do this for our senior project!’ and that is exactly what we did. We began by studying the rules of Neo-Futurism and brainstorming ideas. We would share stories from our lives that could be turned into scenes. Through our own ideas and experiences, we wrote, revised, and workshopped as many scenes as we could, landing on the 20 you will see tonight.”

For “4 Ten-Minute Plays”, each senior directed one of the shows. Maggie Loxtercamp (Musical Theater 2024) directed “Ferris Wheel” by Mary Miller. “The cast and I dove deep into subtext, use of breath, and connection with the other actor,” said Loxtercamp. “Working [with them] has been very enlightening for me as a director and an actor, and I am very proud of the discoveries made.”

Greta Kunene (Musical Theater 2025) in “Caution” by Fabiola R. Decius, Directed by Wanjiru Njora (Musical Theater 2024)

Miah Reimann (Theater 2024) directed “Playwriting 101” by Rich Orloff. “It was a really enjoyable experience directing this funny show,” said Reimann. “When working with these actors it was really important to me that we focused on the constant change in tactics, how those tactics change, and how they know it changes. I grew a lot during this show, not only as a director but as an actor, and I’m proud of how well my actors were able to work with me and put this show together.”

Maeve Filkins (Theater 2024) directed “Sure Thing” by David Ives. “Spending time with this show and its cast has been an absolute pleasure,” said Filkins. “I hope you have as much fun watching these two as I have.”

Wanjiru Njora (Musical Theater 2024) directed “Caution” by Fabiola R. Decius. “I really enjoyed directing this play, along with working with the lovely cast. We had so much fun putting this whole thing together and creating something that all 3 of us can be proud of,” said Njora. “I loved the play itself and wanted to bring it to life as much as possible.”

Congratulations to all those involved in the show!