The Maine Drama Festival’s regional one-act competition was held last weekend at eight sites across the state, with the top two high schools at each site advancing to the state championships, set for March 23-24 at Yarmouth High School.

Among the regional winners were Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook and Windham. Bonny Eagle, Scarborough and South Portland were also recognized for different aspects of their performances. (For more on the regional competition, see page 7.)

On Saturday, two months worth of set design and rehearsals for the cast and crew paid off with 35-minute performances in front of three-judge panels.

“When they announced that we would be advancing to the state festival we were all overwhelmed with a surge of emotion,” said Cape Elizabeth senior Tara Pinette, who was an all-festival cast award recipient. “I was on cloud nine.”

It wasn’t quite like rushing the floor at the Cumberland County Civic Center following a big basketball win, but it wasn’t that different, either. The basketball tournament gets day after day of media attention, and with good reason. It is a Maine institution, and a special time of year for students, parents and fans.

But the one-act play festival serves as a reminder of the variety of opportunities that schools provide students outside of the classroom. Like the state Academic Decathlon meet, won by Scarborough recently, or the regional robotics championship, at which South Portland prevailed, one-act plays are another chance for students to learn how to be part of a team under pressure-filled circumstances.

“I would definitely say March 10 was our best performance yet,” said Joanna Clarke, a Windham senior and an all-festival cast award recipient who was part of the performance of “Wiley and the Hairy Man.” “We all took risks and succeeded in our jobs. The chorus became the swamp, the Hairy Man got tricked, and Wiley and Mammy conjured away their fears. Our biggest goal as the cast and crew was to entertain the audience with a beautiful story. I think last night that was accomplished.”

All of these events and activities, many of which privately fundraise but ultimately depend on public money and facilities, also allow students to see beyond the walls of their own school and get a sense of the larger community out there.

“It’s great being able to host such amazing people,” Clarke continued. “One of the greatest things is to meet actors and crewmembers from other schools that share similar interests and passions. Everyone is competing and yet we all become a huge group of friends by the end.”

As we enter another difficult budget season, it pays to keep in mind that schools are more than classes and classrooms. Cuts will be necessary in many communities, and funding for a lot of these lesser-known extracurricular activities will be the subject of debate. School and municipal officials who form the budget take that work seriously, and no cuts are easy. But taking notice of student achievement – whether on the stage or at the podium – provides just a little more motivation to maintain these valuable programs.

Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com or followed on Twitter.

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