Set the lights, open the curtains, and watch the stage. One Acts–an important tradition in the world of theatre at CHS. Having started Thursday, March 6, six different shows will play over the next few days. What is unique is that an individual student directs each act, with the sixth production written and directed by Mr. Mangrio. This tradition allows students to express their creativity and showcase their interest in self-production. It is the only production that is student-run and written, allowing the students to exercise their love for theatre production.
The One Acts consist of six different shows, five of which are 100% student-produced. This year, the acts include “Frankenstein,” “A Tale of Two Spectators,” and “Claustrophobia,” which premiered on Thursday. The rest of the acts begin today: “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” “Swagger,” and “Words Words Words.” On Saturday, all six One Acts will be playing throughout the day. Apart from the student-led production and content itself, the One Acts are unlike other plays and theatre shows, being—as the name suggests—only one act long. Each focuses for about 30 minutes and is fast-paced for the audience–allowing viewers to vividly feel the emotions on stage. One of the main highlights is seeing the work each person, whether cast or crew, puts in. This is shown through the countless hours spent in preparation to produce multiple half-hour plays.
The stories chosen for this event can vary, depending on the director and their visions for their play. Some are used play scripts expressed in a different perspective, while others are entirely student-written. In fact, the Wolfpacket featured one of those writers two issues ago—LA Youth Poet Ambassador Mairead Lucke, who wrote “Claustrophobia.” One Acts is a huge part of CHS theatre; it embodies the creativity and love that each student pours into their work for themselves and the audience. CHS freshman and cast member of One Acts Silver Lazar shared her insight.
“Normally, a tech week would lead up to one show,” Lazar said. “But now it’s leading up to six shows. So many people are involved and doing their own thing. The theatre means so much to me and everyone who’s involved in it, and that’s what’s really special to me about One Acts, is that we get to show how much we care through the plays.”
However, the One Acts are not an easy event to run. The student directors, cast, and crew must work efficiently in order to make everything to their vision. The process of directing an act has two main priorities; getting the actors and backstage ready. Before the performance, actors must connect to the story. Students must understand their character and become that role. Many cast actors can voice their interests, but directors have the final say. This portion is where a director can connect their cast members to the play and help each person enjoy themselves throughout the process. For backstage, the student directors must ensure that their ideas for the set, costumes, or makeup are ideal for the crew and true to their liking. This includes a lot of communication and collaboration with the crew throughout the process of production. Most importantly, directors can express true creativity through the writing or story-time of their play.
Although there are a lot of creative aspects to One Acts, some limiting factors still prevail. Depending on the writing or source of the storyline, some directors must keep all lines and only change the time, place or how each character presents themselves. Others have given their production power to other students, where an individual can freely write a play script for the student-directors. Overall, the role of these directors is one of the most important of the One Acts event. CHS senior and director of the “Frankenstein” One Act Apollo Von Wodke shared his experience.
“I want to show how creative a student can be,” Von Wodke said. “Shoutout to everyone, especially my fellow directors! I want to say a big thank you to my actors, they’re doing an excellent job–they’re great friends and coworkers. I also want to thank my crew for costumes, hair, makeup props, and audio lighting; they’re really nice people and I’m happy that we can come together to make these awesome plays.”
One Acts is not only a tradition at CHS, but an important part of showcasing the creativity of the students in theatre. Make sure to support the community of theatre and watch their shows today and tomorrow. Tickets are $10 per student on Friday and $5 per show on Saturday ($20 for a whole day pass). Come support the hard work of CHS students and celebrate their creative skills!
