One-act casts prep for section performances

Three one-act play casts from Carlton County will perform at sections this weekend.

Cloquet qualified in Section 7AA after its subsection performance of "Dirt," by Mandy Conner, at Rock Ridge High School Jan. 25. The section final will be held at Duluth East High School on Saturday, Feb. 1.

The top-rated performance there and in the other 15 Class AA and Class A sections will go to the stage at the 2025 One Act Play State Festival Feb. 6-7. The festival will be held at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium on the University of St. Catherine campus in St. Paul. The Class AA productions will be staged on Thursday, Feb. 6, and the Class A performances will follow on Friday, Feb. 7.

Cloquet's "Dirt" is set in 1935, when the "Dust Bowl batters the Texas Panhandle with drought, dirt, and devastation. The Loftin family is hit especially hard and matriarch Edith already works a night job at the post office to help feed the household of 10 while her husband struggles to run their farm with an injured leg and an oldest son whose behavior grows increasingly erratic."

Director Josh Porter said the students all worked really hard to pull off such a challenging piece. "There were some struggles leading up to the subsection competition that threw into question our ability to move on to the section final," he said. "The students didn't give up and put on one of the best performances I have ever seen come out of One Act at CHS. The students are very excited to have another opportunity to put on such a powerful show."

There will be a free public one-act showcase featuring the Cloquet cast at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8 at Marshall School in Duluth. It's being billed as the Twin Ports One Act Celebration. That performance will be followed by plays featuring students from Denfeld, Marshall and Northern Spotlight Theater, a collection of homeschooled students.

Section 7A

Two Harbors will be filled with acting hopefuls today, Jan. 31, in the Section 7A competition.

Cromwell-Wright was the top performer in its subsection with its rendition of Kamron Klitgaard's "Cheating Death," where "the Angel of Death visits a mental hospital to collect someone on his list and accidentally reveals himself to the wrong person."

Director Pamela Lamb was ecstatic for her students.

"So proud of these students' hard work," Lamb wrote in a congratulatory post on social media. "They really were a team. They helped each other get rides home from practice, and to practice. They helped each other with line memorization outside of school. Always encouraged and built each other up. I am so thankful to have been a part of their win."

The cast from Esko will also be competing in Two Harbors Friday with "Tracks," by Peter Tarsi, a one-act performed in 2023 at the County Seat Theater in Cloquet. Esko finished second in the subsection. The play revolves around a group of strangers who meet in a subway station under odd circumstances.

Moose Lake/Willow River finished third in its subsection and did not qualify for the section, despite what director Jason Schnoll called "a wonderful performance" of "I'm an Original." Barnum placed fourth with "Gossip," and also did not advance.

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County Seat opens season

The County Seat Theater Company will present a flashback to the 1950s beginning this weekend with "It Happened on Route 66" by Todd Wallinger.

It includes a cast of hilarious characters: a short-tempered cook, Sally's geeky boyfriend, an ever-hungry customer, the world's worst auto mechanic, and even Elvis Presley before he was famous.

Performances are at 7 p.m. today, Friday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1; at 2 p.m. on Feb. 2; at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7; and 2 p.m. on Feb. 8-9 at the Encore Performing Arts Center in Cloquet.

The show runs a little over an hour and offers a special rate for families. Tickets can be reserved by calling the box office at 218-878-0071 or online at http://www.countyseattheater.com.

"This is a highly entertaining show for the whole family," said co-director Jenn Soukkala.

An art opening featuring Edna Golen Blanchard and numerous Carlton County artists will be held 6-7 p.m. ahead of the opening performance.