Leaf
at Loudoun Valley High School

Reviewed on December 11, 2021

Tyler Cowher
Heritage High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

Stumble through the brush and into the world of "Leaf," a Loudoun Valley High School student-written production. Chock-full of incredible character dynamics and parallel writing styles, "Leaf" boasts impressive world-building and immersive design. The show's exemplary script is dynamic, constantly changing tone to properly fit the ever-unfolding plot.

Showcasing themes of trust and companionship, the original production teaches audiences that it is not always easy to forgive the past. The show depicts Leaf (Alex Chinn), a rather quiet boy with a range of floral abilities, as he faces the plants that threaten to destroy his village. Soon, Leaf learns that he possesses a manifestation of magic with the ability to resolve the coming conflict. With the assistance of Maynard (Caleb Barnett), a hardened captain with a soft spot for Leaf, the show's protagonist bridges the gap between foliage and personage, bringing peace to the forest.

The production cleverly used stage combat and character physicality rather than dialogue to highlight emotional peaks in the story. The student-choreographed (Chloe Anderson) stage combat is used in the show quite frequently to showcase moments of tension and distress. Leaf's quiet nature prevents him from explicitly communicating his emotional state; however, his physicality bridges this disconnect brilliantly.

Alex Chinn's ability to showcase emotion in a non-verbal communication style only elevated the already enchanting show. Chinn consistently presented an ideal understanding of Leaf's physicality. Maynard's gruff exterior, eventually broken by Leaf, was wonderfully displayed by Caleb Barnett. Not to mention the fine chemistry between Chinn and Barnett which created a more than believable performance.

The exhibition of grief and trauma necessary for the role of Eris was handled quite well by Keira Anderson. Challenged with an ever-moving, dynamic character, Anderson brought to life the constant pain Eris felt as she lamented her loss of Elowyn. Working in unison to set an ominous tone, "The Plants" (Joseph Felt, Chloe Anderson, and Alexis Davis) maintained synchronicity in their chant-like warnings to Leaf.

The show's marketing (Chloe Anderson and Keira Anderson), consisted of several social media posts, flyers, and a mural, was expertly accomplished. Leaf's student-produced script (Cecil Turner-Veselka, Anna Sullivan, and Sammi Sabba) flawlessly depicted emotion, character development, and personality, constructing a magical, immersive environment.

Loudoun Valley High School produced a praiseworthy spectacle of companionship and trust, sure to knock the stalks off of any stubborn thornbush.

Charlotte Lobring
St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

Enter into the beautiful dystopian world of abundant flora, little boys with magic powers, and nightmarish monsters. Prepare to witness gruesome battles, an eternal love story, and witty humor that brings the dynamic, student-created world to life. Loudoun Valley High School's "Leaf" was a masterpiece of physicality, memorable characters, and phenomenal playwriting.

Leaf was written, directed, choreographed, and marketed by Loudoun Valley High School's Theatre III AND IV Class. The staged reading brilliantly narrated the story of a young boy named Leaf, who harnessed the magical ability to connect and revive nature around him. He was plucked from the forest and adopted by Maynard, the captain of the guard stationed in a nearby village, who pitied the boy for always being hungry. Leaf's powers were soon scorned by the other villagers, for their fear of the magical monstrous plants in the forest made Leaf a dangerous outsider. Could Leaf remain true to himself while also pleasing his new father?

Alex Chinn, who played the titular character Leaf, embodied the young boy with incredible physicality and emotion. With Leaf communicating primarily through grunts and chirps, Chinn did an amazing job of conveying a convincing, lovable character with minimal dialogue. Chinn also portrayed the stances and movements of a 12-year-old boy perfectly, and one could see the gradual build of trust develop in subtle ways within Leaf's actions towards Maynard. Caleb Barnett, who played Maynard, was as powerful as he was kind. His character arc from tough soldier to caring father was a joy to watch. The relationship between the two characters was classic and beautifully done as father and son.

Not only did the students write strong male leads, but they did a marvelous job writing for the female leads as well. Keira Anderson, who played village leader Eris, demonstrated character development in a touching and incredible way. Anderson's versatility in portraying both a younger and older version of the character was that of a skill not found in many high school productions. Eris' relationship with Maynard's sister, Elowyn (played by Alexis Davis), was one of the highlights of the show. One wished they could see more of the sweet and tender interactions between the two girls.

An audience favorite was the soldier Hungus, played by FT Whiteley. His singing and slapstick humor was hilarious. Another love of the audience was Maynard's right-hand man, Henry, played by Joseph Felt. The trust and compassion Felt showed toward Leaf was heartwarming. The Plants, played by Joseph Felt, Chloe Anderson, Alexis Davis, and others, spoke their chilling lines in perfect unison and their versatility within scenes was amazing to watch.

When listening to the gorgeous dialogue and narration spoken in the show, one could not imagine that it was written by high school students. The devices, characterization, storytelling, and world-building were that of a professional level. The contributions of the whole cast and crew to the story were evident. The combat choreographer, Chloe Anderson, created breathtaking fight scenes that were both realistic and creative. The marketing team, Chloe Anderson and Keira Anderson, did an excellent job promoting the show. Complete with a stunning mural of a sword and vines painted outside the theatre doors. Leaf at Loudoun Valley High School is an impressive work of art with a gifted cast, brilliant narrative, and noteworthy characters.

David Strigel
Tuscarora High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

A lone child sat in a forest, hungering for food. As he found an old soldier preparing a meal, the child snuck over and snatched the soldier's meal. The soldier was not frightened, however. "Come with me," the soldier stated calmly, beckoning the child as well as the audience to explore the world of Loudoun Valley High School's production of Leaf.

Leaf was a play written and directed by students in Loudoun Valley's Theatre 3-4 class. In the story, a child capable of conjuring magic meets Maynard, a soldier from a village where plant monsters periodically attack its walls. Little did Maynard know that the young boy, Leaf, would be the key to ending the conflict once and for all.

Loudoun Valley's Theatre 3-4 class creatively wrote a story that was both unique and dynamic throughout. The sheer amount of student work on this show was apparent through the dedication and presence of each performer. The student directors, who were Cecil Turner-Veselka, Anna Sullivan, and Sammi Sabba, incorporated marvelous blocking to make each character stand out.

Alex Chinn's performance as the innocent Leaf was intriguing due to Chinn's ability to act out Leaf's childlike persona. Even though Leaf had limited dialogue, Chinn used their eyes and gestures to express Leaf's feelings, which enabled Leaf to be a believable and likable character. Keira Anderson's portrayal of Eris was also marvelous because of Anderson's conflicted and emotional actions. When the play shifted from past to present, Anderson employed a youthful voice to convey the time frame. Both Chinn and Anderson were phenomenal in building up suspense and carrying the story along.

In addition to the outstanding depictions of the lead characters, the supporting and ensemble actors were essential to the plot of Leaf. Joseph Felt's representation of Henry was purposeful and heartwarming. Henry cared for Leaf and Felt portrayed that through his exceptional delivery and physical movements. When Henry was killed, Felt fell limp and was still for a long period of time. His death was meaningful and was evident through the other soldiers' somber expressions. The ensemble equally added tension by reacting appropriately in each scene. The fact that many of the actors played two or more characters showed versatility and adaptability, two qualities that made the production so astonishing.

Chloe Anderson's superb fight choreography grounded the play with practicality. The sword and fist combat were fluid, which allowed the fight scenes to be climactic and powerful. Chloe Anderson also worked alongside Keira Anderson to create ingenious marketing pieces. They created a mural and posted advertisements on Instagram each day in order to market Leaf in an effective manner. These endeavors were monumental in making Leaf a more successful production.

Plays written entirely by students can be challenging, yet Loudoun Valley High School's production of Leaf provided remarkable design and themes. Loudoun Valley confirmed that good productions do not always have to come from world-renowned playwrights; they can come from the minds of innovative students as well.

Nikki Kumar
Lightridge High School
Submitted for publication to Loudoun Now

Leaf, a student-written live stage reading put on by Loudoun Valley High School's Theatre 3/4 class, taught that there isn't always someone to blame in a tragedy.

The story followed a twelve-year-old Leaf, a young boy with strange plant magic, and his interactions with a town not too keen on enchantment. He befriended Maynard, a well-respected captain who defended life in the village, and the two soon learned to trust and create companionship. The script was written and rewritten several times and finally came to life as a live stage reading.

The telling was captured brilliantly by the ensemble cast, building energy off each other and comfortably creating connections to each other to establish a world of varying personalities and stories. The storytelling was paced, with flashbacks and moments to build exposition, careful not to break the fluidity. The cast was able to utilize their space efficiently and creatively balance their movements with their spoken dialogue, where no character was distracting.

Actor Alex Chinn characterized Leaf with a large ability of growth, playing into the emotional moments Leaf learned the importance of trust and tragedy. The character was not verbal at first and expressed thoughts through physicality; however, Alex Chinn conveyed so much personality and background to Leaf by wearing expressive facial expressions that evoked an atmosphere for the character to develop under. Alex Chinn's Leaf and Caleb Barnett's Maynard had a really developed father-son relationship, and it shined onstage. The two were able to show the beginning stages of trust and how hard trusting can be at first due to previous experiences. It was a wonderful representation of the found family trope and was heartwarming to watch grow throughout the show.

Joseph Felt played Henry in a way where an attachment was grown on Henry and developed to a point where shock was exposed as the character was attacked and killed. Keira Anderson as Eris represented how tragedy can take a toll on trusting again and splendidly built Eris' young-love experience to ignorance then acceptance of a new window of opportunity that was Leaf.
Joseph Felt, Chloe Anderson, and Alexis Davis as the Plants were ominously placed and constructed a tension rise within the storyline progression. The unison's chants and mystery propelled the story along and provided intense moments to characterize Leaf's remarkable abilities.

The story was written incredibly, the movement of the story was dynamic and created tender moments to connect to the overarching theme. The choices selected within the show's playwriting were executed magnificently and were placed creatively, even throughout stage combat coordinated by Chloe Anderson.

Loudoun Valley High School's Leaf was a heart-warming 'peace between worlds' story that was relatable to audiences regarding trust and tragedy.

Shannon Sidwell
Centreville High School
Submitted for publication to Loudoun Times-Mirror

A wondrous story of an outsider in a dynamic village, Loudoun Valley High School's "Leaf", is a carefully crafted story that showed what it means to trust. Leaf was a student-written production that highlighted the changes characters face when challenged with the unexpected.

Leaf was about a boy with magic, who is brought to a village that fears it. Maynard looked out for the boy, named Leaf, and showed him kindness. Overtime, you saw the characters build trust with the boy and their unease with him started to lessen. After an attack from the threatening plant monsters, Leaf was blamed for the death of a beloved townsperson. Sentenced to rot for eternity in a cell, Maynard provided an escape for Leaf. Taking a substantial risk, Leaf freed the village of the plant monsters by giving them what they searched, his light. When he returned to the village, he was celebrated as a hero.

Portrayed by Alex Chinn, Leaf was a very physical character. With simple but captivating movements, Chinn beautifully showed the audience how Leaf felt with very little verbal communication. The moments when Leaf did speak, it was truly shocking to the audience.

Leaf and Maynard's character interactions were depicted in an enjoyable manner, their moments felt very natural and comforting. Maynard, played by Caleb Barnett, had great physicality and character development.

The ensemble used in Leaf was captivating and showed the audience an expressive and changing group. Whenever the plants, played by Joseph Felt, Chloe Anderson, and Alexis Davis, spoke in unison, a frightening yet fascinating moment occurred. The villager ensemble, made up of FT Whiteley, Alexis Davis, and David Felt, wonderfully portrayed arguments, with every overlapping word spoken feeling believable.

The fight choreography, created by Chloe Anderson, was interesting to watch and allowed the audience to see the characters in their movements. The mood of the fight felt accurate to the scene, and audience members could tell the difference between sparring and real fighting.

The writing of the script, by Cecil Turner-Veselka, Anna Sullivan, and Sami Sabba, provided strong character arcs in addition to interesting dynamics between characters. The narration allowed for clarity with the characters movements, and helped the audience understand the story.

Throughout all elements of the performance, the theme decided by the cast of "persistent trust leads to eternal companionship" was evident. Loudoun Valley High School's production of Leaf engaged the audience and provided a unique perspective on trusting others.

Ayan Rasulova
Centreville High School
Submitted for publication to Blue Ridge Leader

"There isn't always someone to blame." Loudoun Valley High School performed their original student-written show "Leaf" this weekend in what was an incredibly heartwarming performance featuring a young boy with magical powers found in the large plant monster-filled woods.

The show follows the character Leaf, and from the moment he is found in the forest, the village he is adopted by feels distrustful of his magic due to the consequences of these powers in the past rather than embracing him - all except for the old captain himself, Maynard. Though the others eventually warm up to him, their trust is shattered through events out of Leaf's control, only to be rebuilt once more. The entire story followed these relationships as well as the individual character's personal growth arcs in a very emotional performance, showing that "persistent trust leads to eternal companionship.".

The audience saw this relationship that Leaf and Maynard had fluctuate between wariness and acceptance in a memorable and captivating performance. Caleb Barnett, playing the gruff and aloof Captain Maynard, did an incredible job capturing the father-son dynamic between him and Leaf, played by Alex Chinn. With their mannerisms, Barnett showed a loving yet stern attitude towards the child, touching the hearts of all the audience members. Likewise, Chinn charmed the crowd and perfectly captured Leaf's curious yet peaceful nature despite not being verbal a majority of the show.

Exploring past trauma in a character can be difficult to pull off, but Loudoun Valley Theater managed to do exactly that with Keira Anderson's portrayal of Eris. Following the death of her romantic interest Elowyn, Eris had skepticism towards magic from then on, showing that in her interactions with Leaf and attitude towards these powers. Anderson's acting left the audience in shock during a flashback scene of Elowyn's disappearance, the actor's piercing cries left the room in a shocked silence.

Student directors Sammi Sabba, Anna Sullivan, and Cecil Turner-Veselka showed large amounts of creativity with their decision on the implementation of the actual leaf monsters, using an ensemble to hold out branches and wave them around, alternating between fluid motions in calmer scenes to frantic movements when the plants were angered.

What was truly impressive about this show was the fight choreography, directed by Chloe Anderson, in scenes where battles occurred, ranging from the training session between Maynard and Leaf to the intense conflict between Leaf and the monstrous plant creatures. Anderson made sure each scene was coordinated perfectly, with the vines of the monsters shooting out in a memorable scene where Maynard was restricted as Leaf cried to the creatures to release him.

Overall, Loudoun Valley High School's Leaf was a major success, exceeding the expectations of the audience with the incredibly talented cast and overall creativity.