Ovation Theatre company of Londonderry is gearing up for the world premiere of a play with a strong message about mental health. “Masked” is set during the early months of the pandemic, but is far less about physical masks and much more about the emotional masks.
It focuses on social media apps and the suicide rate for girls aged 10 to 14 increasing by 151 percent, compared to an increase of 107 percent for all age groups. Masked was written to try to help prevent those percentages from increasing.
Masked is directed by Dan Gore of Londonderry and Stage Managed by Ryan Kaplan of Windham. The cast is drawn from throughout the area, including Shani Lang and Hope Frost of Hampstead, Jacques Lopez of Windham, Kaz McGraw of Hooksett, John Jenks-Seymour of Brentwood and Lauren Legault and Bobby Gariepy of Haverhill, Mass.
Masked will be performed Sept. 22 and 24 at Windham High School, 64 London Bridge Road, Windham. Tickets are available at OvationTC.com. Group discounts are available.
Photos by Chris Paul