Our school’s auditorium is empty during the winter, but our drama students have hardly stopped working. In the black box, a smaller theater located in the music hallway, they are rehearsing their One Act Plays, or One Acts for short. The twist: They can create anything they want. It serves as a reward for the students in Theater IV, most of whom are seniors, for their hard work and dedication. The writers of the One Acts are only limited by the words “school appropriate.” This January, the theater department is hosting 16 unique mini-plays that serve as short culminations of many months of work.
Unlike our school’s plays or musicals, One Acts are completely directed by students. This includes writing a script, casting and technical design. One Acts, which are only one act long, generally range from 10 to 15 minutes. Another difference from plays and musicals is that the One Acts are free to attend.
Senior Drew Wright shares what it’s like to finally create his own One Act. He has written a murder mystery inspired by the works of Agatha Christie and the movie Clue. He also took elements from The Play That Goes Wrong, which was the theater department’s play from last year.
“My One Act is a cute little murder mystery where this really rich guy throws a party, and he plays a prank on his guests that he’s dead. He’s not actually dead, but uh oh, his brother died, so now all the people at this party have to figure out who the actual murderer is,” Wright said.
He also mentioned that there would be a bit of audience participation.
Of course, a play couldn’t exist without actors. Sydney Verdi, a sophomore in theater II, describes what it’s like getting to act in the One Acts.
“It was honestly just so much fun getting to act with other people… It’s less stressful because it’s less of a time commitment, since you have fewer rehearsals. They tend to be built around your personal schedule,” Verdi said.
Directors are responsible for casting their actors to fit the mood of the show, which can range from somber to whimsical. Each One Act features students from Theater I, II, and III, which displays all of our school’s talent. Watching the One Acts is a great way to see what our school’s actors are capable of when not limited by the number of roles in a play or musical.
“Everyone got first choices [and] second choices… we made sure that everyone who auditioned made it into at least one show, and that way it’s fair for everyone,” Wright said.
Meanwhile, students in the Technical Theater class work behind the scenes to enhance the show. They’re in charge of the lights, sound effects and costumes. The One Acts are the perfect opportunity to teach new technical designers. They learn the necessary skills to design larger shows like plays and musicals, but with a less strenuous workload.
“I get my scripts… I make little notes of things, like if a character has a jacket or high heels or anything like that…I make a google slide with pictures of what I want each character to wear. And then I pick out the clothes and make them wear it,” Sophomore and aspiring costume designer Vivi Parsons said.
Regardless of what they do for the One Acts, everyone’s goal is to have fun and put on a good show.
“I really love the pride that the students have in creating something that is 100% them… everybody creates magic to some degree,” Kravitz said.
The One Acts will be on February 6-8 in the black box. On weekdays, the plays will be shown from 6:30-9 p.m. with a 10 minute break in between each performance. On February 8, the plays will be shown starting at 11 a.m., and the second half of the plays will start at 6 p.m.
