The community is invited to attend the upcoming one-act play Holding On, which will be performed on Friday, January 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Menno City/School Auditorium. The performance is open to the public and will take place following a dress rehearsal held during the school day on the same date.
Holding On is written and directed by Mrs. Betsy Knodel, with Tessa Hertl serving as assistant director, and features a cast and crew of sixteen students. The play is set in a small town in South Dakota and explores the everyday moments, relationships, and challenges that shape life in a close-knit community. Inspired by Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, the story blends reflection, memory, and shared experience to highlight the importance of connection and belonging in a small town.
The play centers on Fannie Kludt, the town’s librarian, portrayed by Ervin Schrock. Through Fannie’s perspective and the voices of the town, Holding On captures the heart of small-town life and the ways people hold onto memories, traditions, and one another. One of her lines is “"The past walks with us. The future waits for us. And here… in the middle… is the times we lean on one another.” It reminds us of where we have been and where we are going while strengthening those relationships we have.
Students involved in the production include seniors Ella Rempfer, Erick Buechler, and Hunter Yosten; juniors Adie Rempfer, Ervin Schrock, Fallon Rich, Lilly Love, and Sam Andersen; sophomores Ashlyn Derby, October Reed, Taylor Didomenico, Ruby Fitzmaurice, and Tyler Hall; and freshmen Leah Crick, Emma Rempfer, and Will Andersen.
This production also marks a meaningful milestone, as Holding On is Mrs. Knodel’s final play directed for Menno Public School, concluding a twenty-eight-year run of plays at Menno High School. Over the course of her career, Mrs. Knodel has directed and produced plays for 39 years, leaving a lasting impact on students, audiences, and the school’s theater program. During that time, MHS has received seven state superior play awards and has appeared at state fourteen times. The performance promises to be a thoughtful and engaging evening of theater for audiences of all ages.