On November 29th, the Brandon Theater program had the pleasure of hosting the “Night of One-Acts,” where they performed their show “A Monster Calls” for family and friends before they took it to Southern Miss for the Drama Fest competition! The story follows Connor (Ethan Young), a teenage boy who is being bullied at school; the main target point for his bullies is Connor’s mom (Carsen Flowers), who is fighting a losing battle with cancer. A sense of hope is brought about by a yew tree that is revealed to be a Monster (Luke Switzer) Who comes to Connor every night to tell him stories in order to cope with his Mothers illness and his constant harassment at school. Each year, the Mississippi Theatre Association (MTA) holds two regional Drama Festivals- the North DramaFest, typically at Mississippi State University, and the South DramaFest, which takes place at the University of Southern Mississippi. All actors at these competitions aim to advance to the MTA statewide theater festival, an honor awarded only to the top-performing groups. As our theater Dogs traveled to Hattiesburg, their expectations were high; their one-act play- “A Monster Calls”‘. With their performance, our dogs brought home the Distinguished Play Award, advancing for the first time in a decade. An All-Star Cast Award(award given to up to three performers who were given best in the show) was given to Luke Switzer for his role of Monster and Carsen Flowers for her role as Mom. We’re so proud of our theater department and wish them the best of luck in January at the MTA statewide festival in Gulfport.