The Mt. Hope Masqueraders won the Rhode Island Drama Festival this weekend with their production of “12 Angry Men,” taking top prize in the festival in its first entry into the contest in four years.

Mt. Hope shared the top honors with Scituate High School, and both will represent the state in the New England Drama Festival planned for mid-April at Cranston High School West.

For theater director Nick Mendillo, the showing is affirmation that the program is headed in the right direction:

"I've been looking forward to this moment for about 15 years," he said.

"I don't know what the program looked like before I got here. But I was confident because I knew the kids were exceptional. To be at the helm of a drama festival production as a first time (director) and win it, was an incredibly humbling experience."

The difference came down to preparation and stellar performances by the cast, he said. Among the overall honors, six Mt. Hope actors were also recognized for their achievements:

n Philip Pontes for acting;

n Abigail Phenix for acting;

n Jackson DiPietro for acting;

n Carly Ferreira for costume design;

n Haleigh Hunt for hair and makeup;

n And Bella Mancieri, notated for the Terry Murray Scholarship.

The play

“12 Angry Men” is a three-act jury drama originally put on by the Masqueraders last November.

With just a single set and 14 actors, most of whom are onstage the during the entire production, the play is in one sense simpler than many. But in other respects, it’s a difficult production to master due to intense, lengthy dialog and weighty subject matter.

"It takes a lot of effort to keep your focus," he said prior to the November production. "There’s also a lot of lines to memorize for the kids. But it’s an incredible play and one I’ve always wanted to do.”

The story follows the deliberations of 12 jurors deciding the fate of a young man accused of murder. Juror eight, played by Philip Pontes, tries to convince his peers that there is reasonable doubt in the case presented by prosecutors. Juror three, played by Abigail Phenix, is convinced the accused is guilty. And juror four, played by Mike Viveiros, is the voice of reason and calm, reciting his arguments “with zero emotion and pure objectivity,” Mr. Mendillo said.

The accused, played by Noah Mallon, is present in the room but does not speak. He was added to the play by Mr. Mendillo “as a symbolic reminder of what (jurors) are arguing about.”

“It’s about a 19-year-old boy’s life.”

Mr. Mendillo is a big fan of the festival, which his school won three times while he was a student at Cranston West. To win it is sweet, he said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to see theater from all around the state,” he said. “You get to see what other schools are doing and it really immerses the children and builds a community of theater within the state. This was the perfect opportunity for me to bring Mt. Hope back.”

As for the victory, "It's not about me, it's about the kids. It's all about learning and supporting the arts, but man it was really great to get" the victory.