Student thespians from Bonny Eagle High School added some new hardware to their trophy case this week with a Class A regional win at the Maine Drama Festival.

It’s the first time Bonny Eagle has won the regional one-act play competition in more than a decade, according to the troupe’s director, Rick Osann.

Actor Rose Michelson said it was a “very gratifying moment. Our cast and crew put our everything into (the play) and getting first couldn’t make us happier.”

Winning at the regional level means the students will have the opportunity to compete at the state competition held Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, in Rockport.

Stage manager Reilly Staples said the win was “probably the happiest moment we have had as a group. By this point, we usually have wrapped up with the show and moved on to the next, but we get to continue with this one.”

Bonny Eagle Drama won the regional competition at Marshwood High School on March 5 with a play called “Free Will,” by Billy Aronson. The students will hold a benefit performance of the play on Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m., at Bonny Eagle High School. Proceeds from the performance will help defray the costs of the trip to the state competition in Rockport, including food and a night in a nearby hotel. Osaan said the school board voted to cover a portion of the expenses, so students and families will not be asked to pay out-of-pocket to fund the trip.

“Free Will” involves 10 of Shakespeare’s “most well-known characters stranded on a desert island by a now-senile Prospero” from ‘The Tempest,’” said Osann.

He described the play as a mix of tragedy and comedy that centers on “questions of isolation, self-determination and the related consequences.”

The set for “Free Will” is made to look like a giant hand, with 12-inch-tall fingers that the actors climb. The set was constructed by the high school’s Stagecraft class and won an award for best set design.

In addition to the award for set design, four students – March Steiger (in the role of Viola/Sebastian), Rose Michelson (as Juliet), Mia White (as Witch) and Michael MacFarland-Foley (as Hamlet) – were voted into the All-Festival Cast, an award for outstanding performances. Bonny Eagle’s entire cast received an “ensemble award,” which recognizes the ability of cast and crew to work together as a group on stage.

Staples said she has enjoyed working with the cast and crew.

“I don’t think I could have asked for a better group to have worked with, win the award with, and moved on to States with,” she said. “This group is fantastic, and all the hard work we put into this show paid off.”

The awards are decided by a panel of three judges, all of whom are volunteers with theater backgrounds. The judges use a detailed rubric to give scores to the half-dozen shows presented at each regional site around the state, and the show with the top score is chosen to move to the state competition. After each play the judges meet with the cast and crew to critique the performance. Osann said his cast and crew will continue to rehearse this week, taking into consideration the feedback provided by the judges.

Emily Eberhart, assistant director of Bonny Eagle’s troupe, said a highlight of the regional competition was “seeing and meeting all of the theater kids from different schools. We talked with one another, joked around, played games and had a genuine, nice weekend.”

Even though the festival is competitive, Eberhart said, the atmosphere is supportive and friendly.

Now, Eberhart said, she’s overwhelmed with excitement for the state competition.

“I never thought I’d be able to experience going to States and am so excited that we’ve finally been granted the opportunity,” she said. “We’re going to try our hardest to enjoy and cherish that upcoming weekend and never take anything for granted.”

At the state competition two plays will be selected, one from Class A and one from Class B, to attend the New England Drama Festival.