ROCKPORT — The Camden Hills Regional High School Visual and Performing Arts Student of the Month in March is senior Jan Low. Just as comfortable onstage as behind the scenes designing and constructing costumes, he has been a mainstay of the theater program throughout his high school career taking advantage of everything CHRHS has to offer, according to the Department, in a news release.

An emerging playwright, Jan’s original one-act play A Matter of Heritage is premiering in Strom Auditorium on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m., as well as on Saturday, March 7 at 6 p.m., as the Camden Hills' entry in the 2020 Maine Drama Festival. A farce, the play is set in Poland in the late 17th century and exposes the lighter side of Polish nobility and the greed of family heirs. Though he has written other works, this is the first time one of his plays has been produced for the stage.

In addition to his role as playwright and student director, Jan has also singlehandedly designed and constructed all the period costumes for A Matter of Heritage. During his four years at CHRHS, he helped with costumes for Sister Act, In the Heights, Idiot and the Oddity, You and Mia, and Mary Poppins.

In 2019, he crossed the threshold and performed the role of Lenny Ganz in the CHRHS production of Neil Simon’s Rumors. 

“Though this was his only stage role in high school, it was truly memorable and certainly demonstrated that writing and costuming are not his only talents,” said the Department.

An honor student, he manages to balance his demanding academic schedule with his work in Strom. Along with honors and AP courses he has taken Theater Performance, Drawing and Painting, and Advanced Drawing and Painting. He is also a member of the acapella group Offbeats. Next year, his plans are to attend university in Europe and to pursue a career in international relations or archaeology. Leading by example, he is hard working and understands what it means to be part of a team. 

Jan will be the first to tell others the value of being involved in the arts. His advice to underclassmen: “Do fun things that you enjoy with other people and you will always be excited for some part of your week. When Tom asked why I wrote my show, I told him 'Because I thought it might be fun.' It was."