On Thursday, Nov. 30 and Friday, Dec. 1, Stageplayers presented their One Act Play Festival: a series of student-directed skits that were fully self-written or adapted from another source. The plays are designed to relate to the audience in a fun and comedic way.
“And it’s really fun because it’s purely student-led,” said junior Isabella Abou-Chakra, “and everyone works together to create an awesome short play that keeps the whole audience entertained throughout the night.”
Episode
The night was kicked off with a play inspired by the game “Episode,” written and directed by seniors Olivia Morgan and Laura Gonzalez. “Episode” is a choose your own adventure game, centered around the player making choices that shape the outcome of the story.
The play captured this with the audience interaction. Via, the narrator, was played by sophomore Marley Herchenbach, and the audience helped make “this or that” decisions regarding main character Debbie’s life choices, such as outfits, hairstyles, and even her love life.
However, like the stereotypical independent female lead she was, Debbie decided to choose herself over any romance in the end.
Revenge of the Gingerbread Boy
The next play rang in the holiday season with its creative – and suspenseful – spin on the life of a young gingerbread boy. Directed by seniors Hope Wagner and Greta Vanbrunt, the skit follows the revenge mission of a gingerbread boy, played by junior Katie Johnson, who is trying to track down the murderer (or consumer) of his father.
The boy ventures to the North Pole, where he has little luck with a talkative Santa and annoyed elf. After a long journey, he confronts the old man about his father; yet, after his journey, he decides he’s had enough of revenge.
Real Housewives of Disney
Directed by seniors Eleni Rappa and Jordana Block-Terson, this SNL-inspired skit dove into the behind-the-scenes lives of everyone’s favorite Disney princesses.
The characters were designed to be the antithesis of their original characters: Cinderella was depicted as a frazzled teen with a short temper; Belle ditched her books to become a diva; Ariel was lazy, and so on.
But what is a princess without a prince? The icing on the cake for the skit was the gay Prince Charming, played by freshman Michael Bowman. “[The character] was a little out of my comfort zone,” said Bowman, “but it was really fun to play.” Filled with copious amounts of drama, crying and laughter, the play never had a dull moment.
Time to Leave
Written and directed by senior Cole Keriazakos, this skit tells the story of three kids: Jane, Kyle and Ryan, stuck in detention for various peculiar reasons.
Desperate to escape their flamboyant teacher, Mr. Wort, played by senior Sam Foster, the students try to trick him into believing the time machine Kyle, played by sophomore John Zidek, had built was real. Although things don’t end up going as planned as they end up entering the machine instead of the teacher, the story ends with a winning lottery ticket that finally gets their teacher out of the room, and the forecast of an alien invasion.
Forks Out!
As directors juniors Addy Burens and Rosie Wagner explained, “Forks Out!” is an adaptation of an adaptation of the popular murder-comedy movie, “Knives Out”.
The skit follows famous millionaire Cooper Steffensen, played by junior Michael Harris, as he hosts a party with his maid Dorris, played by sophomore Eva Thomas, to escape loneliness. However, things don’t end up going to plan. As the night unfolds, the group faces a mysterious guest and several murders.
Straying from the original movie plot, this eccentric skit ends with not one, but two murderers that were working together all along.
Debbie Downer goes to Olive Garden
“Debbie Downer” is another SNL adaptation, directed by seniors Mila Kvasnicka and Oliver Rein.
The play showcases Debbie, played by junior Lauren Podlogar, whose depressing outlook on life ruins the mood, even at her birthday. With her oddly saddening ‘fun’ facts contrasting the happiness of her family members, this skit shows the humor in family events in public places.
Obliteration Station
Directed by senior Lou Matulenko and junior Wren Frey, “Obliteration Station” entails what seemed like a harmless game night that turns out to have a higher cost.
The play is centered around five friends as they fight for their lives against Barnabas Grim, played by junior River Thompson, a spirit they mistakenly summoned in the midst of fun . Filled with daring tasks such as sticking your hand in a jar of poisonous spiders, licking the floor and even cutting off your pinky – each character is put to the test.
While in the end, Debbie, played by senior Hailey Baffico, may seem victorious, the plot suddenly twists with her taking the place as the new game master.
Dance Moms: The Last Text
Created by Collins Avenue Productions based off of the hit show, “Dance Moms,” this skit, directed by seniors Kate Mitchell and Angelina Baltoski, takes the audience right back to the 2010s.
The show is an adaptation of one of the most famous “Dance Moms” TV episodes: “The Last Text.” Abby Lee Miller, played by sophomore Nick Taylor, never fails to choreograph obscure and often dark dances for the girls.
One of these was a heavy piece about the ramifications of texting and driving. The skit follows Maddie Zeigler, played by sophomore Katie Baker, as she once again takes center stage as Abby’s favorite. The play contains some of the most infamous lines and “fight scenes”
from the show, such as “Girls, out of the room!” and “Get your finger out of my face!”
Interviews at Rubber Band Inc.
The final play depicted junior Jake Potter and senior Danielle Gibson interviewing a series of celebrities at a rubber band company.
Potter was over-the-moon when his favorite celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift showed up. Gibson became exasperated with his attempted meet-and-greets and begged for a “normal” interviewee who might actually be fit for the position. Towards the end of the skit, a seemingly extremely qualified woman comes in, only to reveal that she is, in fact, Barbie herself.
Taking a Bow
Following the last play, the casts of each skit run on stage to take their bows. Then all the directors have their moment in the front before leading the whole company in one final bow.
The uniqueness of the One Act plays lies in the fact that anyone can participate without any experience needed. Sophomore Maddie Pierce commented on the fun aspect of the experience.
“My favorite part of the rehearsal process was hanging out with my friends that are in my one act,” said Pierce. “It’s really fun to do this creative process with them.”
