ONE ACT: Arabian Nights advances to State!
The 43 members of ARABIAN NIGHTS cast and crew recently qualified for the 2025 Wisconsin Interscholastic State Theatre Festival Final competition at UW-Stevens Point on November 20th-22nd . More than 1800 high school students will participate in this year’s Wisconsin Interscholastic High School Theatre Festival which requires each school to present for evaluation a fully-staged play of no longer than 40 minutes. Less than half of the competing high schools typically qualify for state after having competed in both district and sectional meets held in October and early November. Each qualifying school then performs for a panel of three judges during the three-day festival which adjudicates the performance and decides on the quality of the production and what honors, if any, should be awarded.
This is the 26th year in a row that North has qualified for state! North High School’s ONE ACT productions have also received the top award of CRITICS CHOICE every year for the past 26 years, the only high school in the 100+ year history of the Wisconsin High School Theatre Festival to achieve such a distinction.
The ARABIAN NIGHTS cast and crew will present a “Send-Off to State” performance of ARABIAN NIGHTS by Tony Award-winning playwright, Mary Zimmerman on Tuesday, November 18th beginning at 7:00 PM in the North auditorium. King Shahryar marries, loves, then kills a young woman each night—until he encounters Scheherezade. For one thousand and one nights, he delays her murder as he eagerly awaits her next tale of love, hilarity, or sorrow. Strongly visual and theatrical in its approach, Zimmerman’s work features several lesser-known tales from the literary classic. Live Arabic music as well as Middle Eastern dance and movement help to create the rich cultural backdrop of ancient Baghdad.
North theatre director, Ron Parker, stated, “Zimmerman’s acclaimed adaptation weaves ancient tales of wonder into a rich and poetic testament to the transformational power of storytelling. Scheherzade uses stories to save her own life and those of her sisters, to free the heart of her captor, and to open our hearts and minds as well. The play concludes with a powerful reminder of the connection between the ancient world of the ARABIAN NIGHTS and our own modern one—offering the hope and healing that is inherent in the stories we create together.”
The entire event will conclude by 8:00 P.M. Admission is FREE.
For further information contact Ron Parker, director, at parkerronaldc@aasd.k12.wi.us
