Every year, the Florida State Thespian Society hosts a One Act Festival, among many other events. This year the Head of the Upper School Drama Department Mr. D’Angelo and a group of students will participate in the Festival with a play written by former MCDS student Tiffany Kontoyiannis. If the MCDS One Act manages to place among the best four, the students will perform at the State Festival in March 2016.

Tiffany Kontoyiannis has responded enthusiastically to the news that her play would be performed again in this year’s Districts, and has commented on social media that she will be there to show her support to the actors performing. When she was younger, Tiffany was bullied; she saw writing this play as a way to help her set free those emotions. After she graduated from Miami Country Day, she was able to get it published professionally. The Cycle has been performed in Miami Country Day several times, but Mr. D’Angelo believed that it that it deserved to be performed in Districts “We missed an opportunity by never giving it a full staging, by performing in places where there’s no set, there’s no real costumes, and I thought the play deserved a real, full staging”. Also being a non-traditional play that brings up the issue of bullying in schools may help MCDS stand out against the other competing schools.  

About four years ago Mr. D’Angelo says he was first approached by Dr. Vogel, the former guidance counselor, in the hopes that he could help Tiffany Kontoyiannis put together this play. The play carries the theme of bullying and its effects on the victims and people around them. The scenes that occur in the play all come from real events that Tiffanny experienced first-hand or encountered in her research. The play consists of a series of scenes and monologues, each dealing with different types of bullying. Mr. D’Angelo talks about the play’s different perspectives “It looks at it from a variety viewpoints to bullying, not just the bully and the victim, but also bystander, parents, teachers.”
The play appeals to everyone who has ever had any contact with bullying, even if they were not the bully or the victim; it encourages people to speak against bullying and stand up for those who are being bullied. The play digs deep into what it means to be a good peer, and brings out issues that are not always talked about. It shows how someone who is not the bully or the victim can help from outside to make the situation better. Students interested in the topic of fighting against bullying may also be interested in joining the Anti-Bullying Club, who was actually founded by Tiffany Kontoyiannis herself. Sadly, students will not be able to attend the performance on October 30th, but parts of the play will be presented to high school students in February.