Miles Ramsdell-Ray, a junior, whips out a knife and holds it threateningly before him.
The eyes of his target, Raffi DeSoto, a senior, widen as the gravity of the situation hits.
“You’re mad! You’re stark raving mad! YOU’RE GOING TO KILL ME!”
This was just one of the thrilling, emotional, and hilarious moments shared with the audience at the One Act Festival on March 23 and 24. Ten short plays made up the free show, each of which was masterfully performed by groups of two to six members of Advanced Drama.
The excerpt above was from the first piece in the program, “Zoo Story,” written by Edward Albee.
The show was entirely student directed and produced. Even some scripts were written by students, which included “Space” by Megan Wadleigh, a senior, “Boxes” by Rosie Asmar, a junior, “Meet Me In Between It All” by Chesirae Barbano, a senior, and “The Fourth Summer” by Eli Melmon, a junior.
Drama teacher Nancy Martin said, “[One Act Festival usually contains] at most two [pieces] written by students, but this year we had four original pieces, which I found wonderful.”
Advanced Drama rehearsed two times in class per week, which is one of the benefits of having all the performers in the same class, as making a functional after-school rehearsal schedule would be difficult.
Megan Wadleigh, co-producer, said, “It is a requirement of the class to be involved in the festival in some capacity.”
Production starts in January with casting, with almost three months’ work on lines and technique that results in excellent acting and a successful show.
“It’s an opportunity and it’s a tradition that oftentimes people play parts that they don’t always play . . . [the show] gives them an opportunity to stretch,” said Martin.
Students involved in Advanced Drama are often excited to perform in festivals such as these and have a good time putting on a show.
“This is a really special thing that we do [and Advanced Drama is] a really cool thing to be considered talented enough to be a part of,” said Spencer Stancil, a junior.
