Bethany Meehan-Poulin, front left, and Laura Johnston, front right, stand on stage Thursday night at Dirigo High School in Dixfield where they ended their directorial duties after starting the Dirigo Drama Club years ago. “I feel like we’ve done what we’ve attempted to do, we grew the program, we have taken a group of kids from elementary school up to high school, so I think it’s time to (move on),” Johnston said. They are surrounded by the cast and crew of “Lady Pirates on the Caribbean.” Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

DIXFIELD — Bethany Meehan-Poulin and Laura Johnston ended their directorial work with Dirigo Drama Club on Thursday with the production of “Lady Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“It’s our last hurrah,” Johnston said. “I feel like we’ve done what we’ve attempted to do, we grew the program, we have taken a group of kids from elementary school up to high school, so I think it’s time to (move on).”

“When we started the program there wasn’t a program,” Meehan-Poulin said. “It had really kind of fizzled out with things happening and so we grew it to be a fourth through twelfth grade program. We’ve had the kids do things in the community as well, taking them to see live theater performances.”

The women said that with their full-time careers — Meehan-Poulin is a special education administrator for Regional School Unit 10 and Johnston is a fifth grade teacher at Dirigo Elementary School in Peru — they are very busy and keep long hours.

“And we can’t commit the time that we would like to, going forward with different job responsibilities, Meehan-Poulin said, so “it’s time for someone fresh to come in and take it over.”

“I think it’s OK to let somebody else put their spin on it,” Johnston agreed.

Meehan-Poulin said the drama program will continue, and new Dirigo High School Music Director Jim Hamalainen is interested in partnering with the students to produce a musical at least once a year.

Dirigo Drama Club actors, from left, Samantha Searles, Sophie Poulin and Max Giberson perform Thursday evening in “Lady Pirates of the Caribbean” at Dirigo High School in Dixfield. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

Before their performance Thursday night at the high school, several members of the cast of middle and high school students talked about their characters and their experiences as actors.

Samantha Searles said her lead character named Esmerelda is really passionate about the orphanage in the play “and she’ll do anything to help her lady pirates crew. Sometimes she’ll be a little bit rude to her crew because they’re not listening.”

Sophie Poulin’s character, Lucretia, the niece of Gov. Don Juan Futon played by Max Giberson, described her as “a very aggressive type of person, I think she tries to command people a lot.”

Lili Salvati described her lady pirate named Manuelita as having “a lot of action parts” with some “violent” sword fights.

Vince Chapman, who played a guard, said fighting with play swords was part of the action he enjoyed.

And Madison Welch, who played pirate Rosalita, and Marley Berry, who played pirate Marcella said the play was special because “it’s our last play with our drama teachers.”

Dirigo Drama Club actors, in front from left, Elliott Richardson, Nyla Abbott and Lili Salvati, perform a dance Thursday evening in “Lady Pirates of the Caribbean” at Dirigo High School in Dixfield. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times