State silver for Marble Falls’ ‘Moby Dick—Rehearsed’
Marble Falls High School’s theater program poses with its second-place trophy and medals from the state one-act play competition in Austin on May 19. Photo courtesy of Jon Clark
Editor’s Note: This article is the final piece from Jack Smith for his spring 2025 internship with DailyTrib.com. Smith is completing his junior year at Marble Falls High School and has been writing about his school and community for the past three months as part of the internship.
Marble Falls High School’s one-act play troupe was simply stunning at state, taking home silver for its production of “Moby Dick—Rehearsed.” The cast and crew faced off against six other Class 4A schools Monday, May 19, at the Austin Independent School District Performing Arts Center.
This is the third time in the past four years the Marble Falls program has medaled at the state level in University Interscholastic League competition.
“We’re very excited about the outcome,” MFHS Theatre Director Jon Clark told DailyTrib.com after the win. “Making it to the state contest alone is an incredible accomplishment, and for the kids to be named the second-place show in the entire state of Texas is truly monumental.”
Clark said 2025 has been “historic” for the theater program, with the Mustangs winning best performance and best performer awards four consecutive times at competition throughout the year. Cast members Elliott Rossbach and Cameron Newell particularly shined on Monday and were both named State All-Star Cast members.
“I think this season confirms that we’re trending upward,” Clark continued. “A few years ago, we were consistently making it to region. Then, we started consistently making it to state. Now, with three medals in our last four state appearances, it’s clear we’re headed in the right direction.”
He added that the young performers and stagehands were pleased with the results of their hard work.
“We were shooting for a state championship, but I know they’re still thrilled to bring home some hardware from the highest level of competition,” Clark said. “And honestly, any time you get to perform on the state stage in front of thousands of people, you’ve already won.”
ABOUT THE PLAY
Originally a two-act play by Orson Welles, “Moby Dick—Rehearsed” follows a theater troupe as they dramatize Herman Melville’s classic novel about a ship captain’s pursuit of vengeance against a giant whale. The Marble Falls cast and crew condensed the production into a 40-minute one-act play, cutting subplots and secondary character arcs and carefully selecting scenes that could be effectively staged within UIL guidelines.
2 thoughts on “State silver for Marble Falls’ ‘Moby Dick—Rehearsed’”
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Congratulations guys and gals! My grandmother, Jeannette T. Jones, would be proud. She taught at MFHS for many years including the direction of the one act play productions in the 40’s and into the 60’s.
Awesome production theatre team💜💛 Very well written story Jack!