The Deering Players, Deering High School’s drama club, are headed to Yarmouth High School on March 6th and 7th, where they will be performing Elephant’s Graveyard for Maine’s Annual Drama Festival. 

Every year the Deering Players spend two months preparing for the Maine Drama Festival, or “One-Acts,” where they compete against four other Class A schools from around the state. The Maine Drama Festival has been around for just about 200 years, according to the Portland Press Herald. It is a multi-level competition with regional and state rounds, though, for many students, One-Acts isn’t just about winning, it instead serves as a space for students to bond and connect, and for The Deering Players, it is the highlight of their year. 

The Deering Players performed Elephant’s Graveyard for the first time in front of an audience on Friday, February 27th and with an almost full house they felt it was an amazing opening night. “When you have an audience, it adds another layer to the experience for not only the audience, but the actors as well," director Alyssa Rojecki said. "I felt that energy shift, and it was really beautiful to watch.” 

Elephant’s Graveyard tells the tragic true story of “Murderous Mary,” a circus elephant who went rogue during a parade, killing her handler, leading the town to call for her lynching. Since the play deals with incredibly heavy subject matter, many actors worried about what the turn-out would be, as it wasn’t necessarily a show suitable for children, a group that usually made up a good portion of the audience, but despite the player’s fears, the community showed up for them. 

The performance at Deering was just the beginning. At the festival, drama programs have the chance to earn a variety of awards ranging from acting to tech, with the ultimate goal being winning and going on to the state round. Two years ago, Deering won their regional competition and went on to place fourth in the state. 

In order to prepare a play for the One-Acts festival, there are many guidelines and rules that both tech and actors need to follow, the main constraint being the numerous time limits with severe penalties for going over. According to the 2025-2026 Drama Festival Bulletin & Rule Book, almost all aspects of the show are timed. Students have 55 minutes to decide where everything will go on the stage, five minutes to put up the entire set, 40 minutes to perform the show itself, and finally the five minutes at the end to take down the set. When you're working with so many rules and constrictions you have to be ready to be flexible. “No matter what, when you do theater, you're going to pivot," Rojecki said. "I've never pivoted so hard in my life until One-Acts.”

Despite all the stressful elements, at the end of the day, the Deering Players are excited about this weekend's festival.  “I'm looking forward to seeing nine other amazing plays performed by dedicated and hardworking high school students,” said senior stage manager April Thompson. Others look forward to another chance to perform. "I'm excited to put on another show that I'm proud of," said senior and lead actor Ivy Varbanova,"and there's...no one else that I would rather do it with than these guys." 

The consensus from the Deering Players is that One-Acts is truly something special. Freshmen and seniors alike proclaim their love for the program and Rojecki highlights the "family" she feels has been created within the past two months. 

“It's been an experience that I never would have expected that I would come to love so much, but it's become a part of who I am," Varbanova said. "I just wish…everyone after us, the best of luck, and to just have so much fun with it, because it is the best thing.”