Kott lands first lead role at MHCC

Mt. Hood’s production of “The Storytelling Ability of a Boy,” will open tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre.

The play consists of a dynamic cast of three, in a dark comedy: a young teacher, a brilliant student, and a close friend. Three people and three motives create a love triangle that is hard for them to overcome.

Lead actress MaKayla Kott, 20, like her character, defies tradition by counting this as her first lead role.

She plays Caitlin Skreeting, a high school teacher in her mid-twenties who is transfixed by her slacker student’s enchanting writing ability. Kott said the MHCC play is a whole new experience and that she’s had to get used to missing out on her friends “almost every weekend” for rehearsal.

“(Director) Mace Archer is great!  He’s very helpful. Very supportive,” Kott said. “He wants you to try, and try, and try to create your own understanding (of the character) until it clicks,” she said.

From the outside, the story is of small scope. But within, the play unfolds the engaging story of Skreeting’s perseverance to inspire Peck, the singular student, to continue writing. As she continues to support Peck she finds herself drawn into something she can’t control, spending more and more time with him. The unstable love triangle begins when another character enters into the tense mix: Dora, an old “friend” who has a dramatic history with Caitlin, is back in town.

The characters of the play may have heated drama in every scene but the actors playing them sure don’t.

“We get our lines wrong all the time,” said Kott. She also said that laughter is a common sound during rehearsal for the production, and that the environment during rehearsals is very calm but also very focused.

Outside rehearsals, Kott also manages to focus on her hobbies. Among them are reading, drawing, writing, hula hooping, singing, cooking, sewing, playing video games, watching Netflix, and riding her bike, she said. She also works at Gresham’s Chipotle Mexican restaurant and attends classes at Mt. Hood.

This is Kott’s final year here at MHCC, and she doesn’t have any set plans yet. In any case, she said that she will be auditioning for the upcoming winter musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and then figure out what comes next.

The play starts tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Mt. Hood Studio Theatre, and runs again at the same time on Saturday and Sunday.

Advance tickets are $5 for all; students and seniors pay $7 at the door, while adults pay $10.