Women in a man's world
From left to right, Nikki Woolry, Bethany Mack, Samantha Garrison and Taylor Boles excitedly read Mack's invitation to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kenny Griggs plays Cassius, the controlling owner of the basketball team.
Christian Zigler is annoyed that no one will listen to her stories.
From left to right, Bethany Mack, Samantha Garrison and Mahala Harris read an article about their traveling team.
From left to right, Jessica Emmett, Bethany Mack and Samantha Garrison read an article about their traveling basketball team.
Kenny Griggs, left, talks to the girls about the basketball program later that night.
Kenny Griggs explains a basketball routine to Christian Zigler.
Kenny Griggs hugs Bethany Mack after she gives up her invitation to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mahala Harris has fun before the game starts as her and her teammates sing and dance around the stage.
Kenny Griggs clutches his chest during a heart attack that kills him at the end of the first half of the play.
Nikki Woolry, left, and Christian Zigler dance and sing before a basketball game.
Samantha Garrison dances with a glamorous hat. Her and her teammates are playing around before a basketball game.
It might have been a man's world, but it was run by women's rules this past weekend as the Plains Drama Club put on "Shooting Stars," a play with plenty of female star power.
It might have been a man's world, but it was run by women's rules this past weekend as the Plains Drama Club put on "Shooting Stars," a play with plenty of female star power.
Taking a page out of "A League of their Own," the production, set in the 1940s, follows the-behind the scene's-actions of eight women and their traveling basketball team ran by the dictator-like Cassius played by the sole male actor, Kenny Griggs. Although Griggs rules the team with an iron fist in the first half, an untimely death leads the girls to fend for themselves and take the men head on.
"It's about women standing up for themselves, kind of like the ‘60s and a lot about sticking together as a team," says Taylor Boles who plays Charlene, the team's manager. "It definitely shows you the power of what you can do if you stick together."
Throughout the first half of the play, the girls continue to have their lives outside of the court thwarted by Griggs who weasels and maneauvers his way into controlling the girls without unveiling his true colors as the villian of the play. This includes forcing the girls to do embarrasing stunts on the court and standing in the way of true love. However, his actions are highlighted when he forces one of the girls to turn down an invititaion to the Basketball Hall of Fame, which brings out the true hints of his controlling influence.
The first half ends with his demise from a heart attack and then in the second half the audience truly sees the extent of his control through basketball contracts and demeaning basketball stunts that have him profiting wildly. His abuse provides a lesson for everyone including Griggs.
"It's not good to use people for your own good. That's what my character did. He was selfish and just used them for his own good, and that doesn't get you anywhere."
The two-day performance on Friday and Saturday was the result of two months of preparation for the nine students who were challenged by the play as they had to work hard to create the wild personalities of the characters that we saw during the weekend. This included different accents from all over the country, charisma and a camadarie between the female costars.
"It's kind of fun in a way. It's hard, but challenging," says Griggs who worked hard to get down his southern accent.
Although he's referring to creating his character's personality Griggs could easily be referring to the responsibility and unique challenge of being the only male in the play especially when Boles implies that despite his controlling character on the stage, Griggs endures a fair amount of good-natured harassment from his female costars.
"Everybody kind of gangs up on Kenny. He just kind of lets it roll off of him," says Boles.
"I guess after a few plays you get used to it," laughs Griggs.