YARMOUTH — Pressure? If Jackson Ruprecht is feeling it, he’s not letting it show.
“No school has ever won at state three years in a row,” the senior student-actor said. “We’d like to make history.”
Additional Images
Ruprecht and his peers from Yarmouth High School will stage scenes from the play “Epic Proportions” as its entry in the 2015 Maine Drama Festival. Regional competitions will be Friday and Saturday. Yarmouth, which has won the Class B title two years in a row, will compete in the regionals at Freeport in hopes of moving on to the Class B finals March 20-21 at Stearns High School in Millinocket.
Ruprecht, 17, lives in Pownal. He transferred to Yarmouth schools beginning in seventh grade, in part because of Yarmouth’s reputation for having an excellent arts program. He’s been interested in acting since elementary school, and lobbied his parents to enroll him at Yarmouth so he could get the best training possible.
With two state titles in three years and a lead roll in this year’s play, Ruprecht picked well.
He’s in the process of making a decision about college. He applied to 16 schools, and has narrowed his choice to a few. He’s waiting to hear from them, and hopes to make a decision by April 1. Wherever he ends up,. Ruprecht intends to major in the humanities and minor in the performing arts.
His long-term goal is firm. “I want to be a comedy writer for ‘Saturday Night Live,'” he said.
He caught the performance bug in the third grade. He was cast in the ensemble for a school production of “Oliver Twist.”
Being on stage thrilled him, and that feeling hasn’t dulled. Representing Yarmouth in “Epic Proportions” makes him feel pride, joy and satisfaction for working on a project and being rewarded for its success.
“The experience of being on stage and sharing something you have created is a magical feeling,” he said. “The idea of working on something and for something and sharing something with other people is just a deep, deep feeling of satisfaction. I haven’t experienced that feeling in any other facet of my life.”
One thing he’s learned during his time at Yarmouth: Don’t gloat. The competition is always good, and underdog schools often surprise judges by staging shows that soar to unexpected heights.
“All of the schools have worked hard and prepared their shows and are trying to out-do the other schools,” he said. “Historically, we’ve done well. But we try not to get cocky. Anything can happen in any year.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.