By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — This year saw a distinct change in tone and setting for the drama club at Hanley Composite School.

After presenting the space-themed comedy One Giant Leap in 2015, co-director Leanne Griffin said her students decided they were ready to tell a more serious story.

Dust — a 60-minute play that captures a year in the life of a Prairie farm family, beset by drought and depression in the mid-1930s — certainly fit the bill.

The play also prominently deals with death and mental illness, so much so that the program included a mature content warning.

But Griffin said the students themselves were able to get a handle on the play’s content and themes, and the results on stage spoke for themselves.

“I have a really great group of kids,” Griffin said Thursday night, adding that the rehearsals and planning had gone smoothly.

The Hanley drama club performed the play three times last week, including a drama night on Wednesday and a matinee performance for the school body.

The final performance was held as a dessert theatre on Thursday night with about 80 in attendance. Patrons were served cake and coffee before enjoying the show.

Dust was written by Griffin several years ago. She said this is the third time she has produced the play, noting that she made some modifications, tailoring the material to the students with whom she was working.

“Every time I redo a play, I always do rewrites and additions and subtractions,” she said. “We had a lot of new kids show up this year.”

For the full story, see the April 11 edition of The Davidson Leader.