Article written by Ainsley Hall and published in The Journal on January 23, 2026, link to full article HERE.
Hedgesville High School’s Thespian group is preparing for their new competition piece “We are the Sea” on Jan 29. This one act play shares the story of three women setting sail from Ireland to escape the Potato Famine in the 1850s. However, during their ocean voyage they must face many dangers including a cruel sailor who has little sympathy for their plight. The cast includes Kianna Rogers as Norah, Alexander Owens playing the Sailor, Audrey Hott as Iseult, William Colvin as the Deep Current and Abigal Morris as Una.
One of the biggest differences between a competition piece like this and a normal high school production is the length of the show. While a normal production can be two hours long, a competition show must fit within 45 minutes. Rogers explained that there is also a lot more pressure. Students are competing against other schools, watching each of the performances and being judged on how well they do.
“You want this show to be the best it can be so you can move on,” Rogers said. “So I think there definitely more pressure with comp shows than there are with plays.”
This is also Rogers’ first lead, adding a new challenge for her as she leads the other performers. One of the things she’s had to learn is how quickly an actor can change emotions in one scene. In addition to memorizing over 100 different lines, she has to learn how to interact with different characters and create perfect chemistry to bring the story to life. The other actors face similar challenges, like mastering Irish accents or learning how to perform deep emotions throughout this tragic story.
For Rogers, this show has meant a lot to her, not just because it’s her first lead, but because she’s grown closer with the cast. For example, even though she’s known Morris for several years, they’ve become closer friends because of their characters.
“This show is really important to me, and I think it's really well written,” Rogers said. “I think shows like this that are based on real life events are just better because it actually happened. People actually lived through this. So then the audience is sympathizing with the characters.”
Hott agreed with Rogers, explaining that one of the things Theater Director Kelli Cooper considers when casting is whether the cast can learn, grow and work together. Hott shared she learned a lot from watching the other actors.
“There’s an element of respect throughout the cast where you just feed off each other’s energy and you learn,” Hott said. “If somebody’s down, you can tell, and everyone tries to pick them up and we all just try to have good attitudes coming into rehearsal.”
Their first public performance will be on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at Hedgesville High School, while the competition will take place Feb. 14 at Musselman High School. For more information about the performance, visit Hedgesville High School theatre’s Facebook page.