Congratulations to Dante Sequeira for receiving his award as a recipient for the 2019 Courageous Player Award at last nights 60th Annual Massachusetts State Football Coaches Association Awards Banquet. 

It’s true – man-eating plants are dominating the Laura S. Leavitt Auditorium at ASHRS... and they’ll be here through Mother’s Day! This is not a bad thing, though – it’s GREAT! It’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” playing May 10 and 11 at 7pm, and May 11 and 12 at 2pm. Tickets are $15 adults; $10 students and Senior Citizens. Buy two - get one free!  May 11th’s Senior special includes free refreshments provided in part by Ayer’s Capri Bakery! Reserve your tickets now to see this “out of this world” musical presented by ASRHS Drama. Call (978) 772-2545 or visit ASRHS Drama online at www.jacneed.com/ASYD/AyerShirleyDrama.htm.    #DontFeedThePlants

ASRHS Students Look Back on Time in ‘Agrabah,’ and Look Forward to Time on ‘Skid Row’

AYER/SHIRLEY, MA: Two students from Ayer Shirley Regional High School have been enjoying a bit of déjà vu in recent weeks.  Senior Carolyn Cooper and Junior Chris Govang have been friends since middle school when they played opposite each other as Aladdin and Jasmine in Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School’s production of “Aladdin JR.”  Now, the two are in rehearsals for their upcoming musical production, “Little Shop of Horrors,” running May 10 thru 12 in the Laura S. Leavitt Auditorium.

“My middle school performance of Jasmine was one of my favorite roles to play so far.  It made it even better than I had Chris there with me.  It’s always so much fun working with him on [and off] stage.  Cooper, a participant in ASRHS’ concert, jazz and marching bands, concert choir, varsity volleyball, the EMT Course, and of course— drama, has been involved with the Drama Club all four years at the high school, right now being President of the Club.  Onstage she has performed in “November Night Live,” “Cinderella,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Almost Maine,” “…Charlie Brown,” and most recently, “The Importance of Being Earnest.”  She is also a member of the Quick Wits Improv Troupe.  Carolyn has received two performance awards from the Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild (METG) for her work in “Almost, Maine” and in this year’s Theater Celebration entry, “What I Left Behind.”  Said Cooper, “Being able to play opposite Chris again in my senior year as Seymour and Audrey is so incredible.  I can’t wait to bring these characters to life.  I wouldn’t want to end my high school drama career any other way.”  Next September, Carolyn will be attending college at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a double major in music education and performance, with French horn as her primary instrument.

Junior Chris Govang most recently performed as Algernon in “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and has been involved in some capacity in all ASRHS shows since his Freshman year including “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Almost Maine,” and “…Charlie Brown,” for which he received an award for outstanding performance by the METG.  Said Govang, “I think one of the first things I thought after we got our roles was something like, ‘Huh, that's funny, it's just like middle school.’ It was neat because her last year of middle school we worked opposite each other, and for her last year of high school it’s hapenning again. Considering how well ‘Aladdin’ went, I'm even more excited with how the show is going to turn out!” Chris is also a participant in the school concert band and chorus. Last season, Chris was Stage Manager for ASRHS Drama’s entry Almost, Maine at the Mass. Educational Theater Guild’s Theater Celebration, as well as performing as Linus Van Pelt in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, for which he received a performance award from METG.  He received another award from METG recently for his role in “What I Left Behind.”  Outside ASRHS, Chris has played numerous roles onstage including Gomez in “The Addams Family,” Prentiss in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” The Narrator in “Our Town,” and Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” at Middlesex School Summer Arts (MSSA), where he has been hired as a Counselor in Training this summer  He has played multiple leading roles with Concord Youth Theatre, is a perpetual stage manager for ArtsNashoba productions, and – in his free time – enjoys playing flute, piccolo, clarinet, piano and guitar. “What'll be especially interesting is how different the roles will be from ‘Aladdin.’ Even though they have the same chemistry, because we’ve grown so much in the past few years, it'll really be a drastic shift from where we started to now.”

In “Little Shop of Horrors,” Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey, and is relentlessly berated by his boss, Mrs. Mushnik. One day, Seymour finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he names Audrey II. The plant seems to have a strange craving when it comes to plant food and soon begins to sing for his supper. Soon enough, to ensure his success in life and his future with Audrey, Seymour feeds Audrey II its fill and finds himself in a more than precarious situation having a bit to do with world domination.  “Little Shop” is a horror comedy rock musical with music by Alan Menken and lyrics and a book by Howard Ashman, based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name.  Because of the subject matter and “life” situations, this production is rated PG-13.

Two local businesses have offered their support the Drama Club this year – Season Sponsor Pinard’s Florist and Garden Supply of Ayer and Spring Musical Sponsor Alo Seamless Gutters of Littleton.

ASRHS Drama Club’s next production of the hilariously horrific “Little Shop of Horrors” will play May 10 and 11 at 7pm; May 11 and 12 at 2pm in the Laura S. Leavitt Auditorium at Ayer Shirley Regional High School, 141 Washington Street in Ayer.  Tickets are available by phone, at the door, or in advance at the Hazen Memorial Library in Shirley.  They are $15 general admission; $10 for students and senior citizens. Given the weekend the show falls on, there are two other ticket options available for this show.  First – All Moms are welcome to attend the show on May 12 free of charge.  If you’re not available on May 12, tickets for all other performances are buy two get one free.

For more information about “Little Shop of Horrors” or the ASRHS Drama Club, call (978) 772-2545 or visit ASRHS Drama online at www.jacneed.com/ASYD/AyerShirleyDrama.htm.