One acts are student-directed, sometimes student-written, plays which also feature student stars. One acts are informal plays that can make audiences laugh or cry but are completely student-run. Directors hold auditions like normal school plays and then set up times to practice for the play.
Senior Izzy McFalls plays Fern Festertester in “Gee!” a play based on the show “Glee.”
“I just thought [one acts] would be a fun way to end my senior year, like a last hurrah for drama club,” said McFalls.
One act plays allow students to direct a play and learn more about the theatre world. Many students in drama club hope to go to school for acting, directing or writing, and this helps them learn more. One acts give students hands-on experience.
Senior Alyx Tidwell co-directs “Into the Dollywoods,” which is about some choir kids who get lost in the Dollywoods trying to go to the theme park Dollywood.
“I’ve acted in one acts for all four years because I enjoy acting. Since this is my senior year, I thought I would take a crack at directing. Leah Warner graduated last year and her plays were always a hit. I wanted her to write one for me,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell explained how he had to work hard on timing out the play. His group struggled to practice and had felt they didn’t have enough time to practice. Unlike the school plays that get almost a whole semester, these plays can have only weeks of production. When one has reliable actors, the plays turn out to be huge successes.
“Learning my lines has been fun, and then choosing the right characterization because you don’t want to be an exact carbon copy. That’s the whole point. You want to be a little different than the original character. I liked choosing the mannerisms of my character,” said McFalls.
Students enjoy the easiness of one acts without having to worry about adult influence. Students still have to memorise their lines, show up for rehearsal, and know their blocking, but there is a carefree attitude in the air. This is just time to have fun and see all they have learned.
“I think the goal of one acts is to close out the year in a fun way. One acts aren’t super serious. They’re not like the school’s shows. It’s just something fun and quick that we can put on just to have a lot of fun,” said Tidwell.
