Theatre club students performed in the annual One Acts Festival on May 24th for a sizable audience. The festival consisted of each class performing a 15-30 minute show. The One Acts are completely student run productions, consisting of a student director, stage manager, actors, and stage crew. The directors select shows to perform, develop a schedule, block the show, and put it on within 4-5 weeks. The performances go one after another, and culminate with a presentation of awards from alumni judges.

This years performances included : They Eat Sunshine not Zebras (Freshman), 21 Chump Street (Sophomore), Lord of the Pies (Junior), and Romeo to Go (Senior). Each show was different from the other. Freshman director, Laina Harding, recalled the duties she had to fulfill. “As a director, I am in charge of fulfilling many tasks, such as picking the show, casting the show, conducting rehearsals, aiding in light and sound cues during the actual show, and many more,” she said.

Student run productions have advantages as well as disadvantages.

Sophomore director, Luke Magette, said he had many issues coordinating with so many of the different aspects of a show. “In addition, directing my friends was occasionally challenging, since they sometimes disregarded what I had to say,” he said.

There was a general consensus, however, that they were very grateful to have had the
opportunity to work with their class in a situation so unique. Junior director Bobby Weil said his favorite part about directing was seeing the show come together in the end to create a wonderful performance. “As a director, the biggest thing I learned is to go with your gut instinct. That’s something I’ll always be thankful for,” he said.

Senior class director, Jannette Fisher, echoed Bobby’s thoughts, saying, “I’m so proud of my cast! They made our last one act so amazing and are all such wonderfully talented people. I’m happy to have directed them.”

Though the directors of One Acts certainly feel as if they have had a meaningful experience, they are not the sole beneficiaries of the festival. The actors in the shows also had a great deal of fun and learned a lot.

Sophomore Jake Fritz, who played the role of Justin Laboy in the Lin Manuel Miranda musical 21 Chump Street won the award for Best Male Lead. He said that, “One acts are fun because of the creative liberties that you can take in a student run production and they are definitely something more people should do if they are interested in a non-time consuming theatre activity.”

Technical aspects of one acts also offer unique opportunities for students involved. Senior Chris Child’s said, “One acts is always a great learning experience due to the small groups working to build each set. It’s a good chance for independence to grow within stage crew and really helps teach the younger grades how to work and build together.”

Alex Mackle, President of Sound and Light Club, added, “One Acts allows Sound and Light to take control of what we want to do. It also allows for more students to run lighting and audio because of the multiple shows.”

At the conclusion of the night some highlights of the awards handed out include: Best Director to Luke Magette, Best Set to The Sophomore Class, Best Male Lead to Jake Fritz, and Best Female Lead to Maddie Gryskiewicz.