Theater performs at One-Act Play
Senior Kara Malick helps senior Alan Dickson apply his stage makeup before the public performance of “All My Sons.”
On March 3, the theater department traveled to Chapel Hill High School to take their show, “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, to district One-Act Play. The cast began rehearsing in January.
“We ran the show as often as we could, and when we were backstage, we ran our scenes together,” senior Connor Callaway said. “Being in theater is all about helping each other, so that’s what we do. I don’t think we’d have come this far if we didn’t help one another. I know that’s what got me to where I am.”
The cast spent many weeks blocking where their characters would move and interact on stage. Students researched and analyzed their characters to better understand their motivations, and they attended One- Act clinics at other schools to receive constructive criticism and advice on how to improve their acting and the show as a whole.
“Ms. Clemens has the most unique direction style I’ve seen in years of theater,” sophomore Malachi Strachan said. “She’s very focused on blocking in a way I haven’t seen before. Every step we take has been thought of and is done on purpose. Blocking the show was the number one priority.”
After a long rehearsal process and a public performance on Tuesday, March 2, the next step was to take their play to the district One-Act Play competition.
The cast performed for an audience of local school’s theater departments and a panel of judges. The play was judged on the actor’s performances, the accuracy of their lines, and the creativity and effectiveness of the lights, sound, set, and costumes.
“I am very proud of our performance,” senior Madison Donovan said. “I was kind of worried before we got here because we were never truly under time like we were supposed to be in rehearsals, but we really pulled it off, and I’m really happy with how our performance went. Even if I am a little disappointed in the few mistakes I made, I am very proud that there were fewer mistakes than any other performance so far.”
After the performance, students were given critiques from the judges. The cast was given advice and insight on how they could strengthen their show, and was praised on the strength of their characters.
“I’ m most proud of the scene where I read the letter with Ann because I’ve never been able to bring out that emotion before,” senior Chey Tubb said. “It never felt real to me, but once we were actually acting it felt real. I was really proud of the way that we reacted. I think it went extremely well.”
The cast won’t advance from district, but several students were given awards. Senior Carly Mauldin won an outstanding crew award for sound, senior Chey Tubb won an honorable mention All-Star Cast award for her role as Kate, and sophomore Malachi Strachan won an All-Star Cast award for his role as Joe.
“When I won my award it was a bit different from everyone else because instead of calling my name, they said ‘Oh, I’m going to butcher this last name,’” Strachan said. “They didn’t even finish saying my name before everyone cheered because we all knew who had the impossible to pronounce last name. It was like some sort of announcement for a famous boxer or something. I felt amazing. They hardly let a syllable of my name out before everyone was screaming and clapping around me. It was exhilarating. This was the best awards ceremony I’ve been a part of.”