I just went to see the student-directed One Acts on Friday, and they were amazing. They contrasted with each other absolutely perfectly, and I can say without a doubt that it was some of the best stage productions that I have ever seen. And now I’m going to talk about it, because honestly, I’m still reeling.
The first one act was called “A Moment In Time,” and it centers around the family of a boy who got in a car accident, set in the hospital as they wait to learn what happens.
As someone who’s familiar with the feeling and vibe of hospitals, this was nothing like I expected. In all of the best ways, this play amazed me. But it was the family dynamic between the siblings as they waited to see what was happening and what was going on that was truly something spectacular. You were able to see the family dynamics clearly, the oldest sister whose twin was currently on death’s door, the oldest brother who’s been gone for too long, and the younger siblings who are just trying to figure out how they’re supposed to cope with the information they’ve been given.
Throughout the play we learn the story about Laura’s brother, William, who committed suicide two years ago, and we see how those warnings signs correlate to what Kevin, the brother who got in the acciedent, had been feeling.
We learn all of this from Laura and Katherine, Laura is one of Katherine’s friends, and Katherine is Kevin’s twin. And the way that they talk about this, the way that everything matches up, it’s so heartbreaking to see the warning signs that were ignored.
And then the moment that truly got to me was when Richard, the oldest brother in the family, learns about Katherine’s suspicions. I have to give major credits to Matt Lynn, who plays Richard, and Tyr Elder, who plays Katherine, because they played up to the scene and the situation so well. They were so heartbreakingly convincing, and when Matt’s character lost his cool and told Tyr that she needed to drop the issue, it was like everyone in the audience felt shocked and hurt and confused all at once. And when Anika Barr’s character, Laura, tries to step in and intervene, and he interrupts and tells her that it’s not like when her brother died, my heart broke for her.
The play ends with (spoilers) the brother dying. And when all of the family members have rushed to Kevin’s side, we see Laura, standing on the stage all by herself. Laura, who paces the stage, and cries, is heartbroken. And then Katherine comes out, and tells Laura that Kevin died, and it’s so heartbreakingly real and the way that Tyr broke as she said it, like she couldn’t say it at all. I’m crying thinking about it, because it was so amazingly well done and I could not give this cast higher praise.
Next was Bedtime Stories (As Told By Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up), and let me tell you that this was such a palette cleanser, something that I needed to see after the last one act. It was funny, it was fresh, and all of the jokes hit just right.
The story starts with two kids and their dad, and the kids want their dad to tell them a bedtime story. After a lot of pleading on the kids part, the dad says yes. I cannot say this enough, the way that Spencer played the Dad was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. He’s tired, and he just wants some sleep, and his hand gestures are top tier. (My favorite line is when he says, “I’m an, accountant.” I simply died laughing.) It was like watching my own father come to life on the stage.
The first bedtime story is Princess and the Pea, but it’s a little different. I had just recently watched Once Upon A Mattress, so I was incredibly interested in seeing how this was going to play out. And I was not let down.
The Queen in this story just wants her son to get married, so that she can go off and live her life, and she goes about it in the funniest ways. Including, getting a servant to pretend to be a princess. Eventually, when he puts a whole can (yes, you read that correctly) of peas under her bed to test her, and it wasn’t the peas that kept her awake, but his snoring right outside her door? I couldn’t stop laughing. (Also, the snoring was hilarious, because he was having a whole conversation with himself at one point.) And then, when he proposes, she says no to him? Flawless, 10/10 performance. And my favorite part of their story is the end, when they all go off into the sunset, singing a parody version of Love Story that almost had me in tears from my laughter.
But I have to say that my favorite part of this story was Cale, who plays the Prime Minister, and he was absolutely hilarious. He played over the top well, and he did not one, but TWO kazoo solos. What more could you want from a play?
AND THEN, there was a second story! This one (also starring Cale, who was filling in for someone and was also amazing), and it’s the boy who cried wolf, but instead of a wolf, it’s a dinosaur.
Noah Marquez plays the dinosaur in such a funny way, like, he’s hiding behind this tree when the villagers arrive (who were all hilarious, shoutout), and he’s just, holding up flowers. Like, he doesn’t even fit behind the tree, and the best part was that he even talked about it with Cale’s character, Wilbur. It was hilarious, and then they became friends in the end, which was sweet.
It was the story we all knew, but it was played off in a delightfully funny manner. And this play also included a song, this one from the sheep characters! It’s a mash-up of a ton of different songs, and I have never laughed so hard. It played off brilliantly, and I thought I was hilarious.
The final play was called “The Door,” and there were only two characters in this show. There was the grandmother and her grandson that she raised.
This is a serious, somber play, and they talk about some heavy things. Autumn Otradevec and Seth played off of each other so well, you could feel the love and family dynamic that they were supposed to be playing.
Throughout the play people are knocking at the door, and when she finally walks up to the door and opens it, Seth leaves, and we learn that his character had just been killed because he was gay.
And then we get the part of the show that made me cry. Because Autumn stands up there, in a different part of the time, and he’s giving a speech about why it’s important that we talk about these things, and that no other person should die like her grandson did.
Words cannot fully describe how much this play moved me. Because once it was over, I just sat back and went, “Wow!” Because the performance was so moving, so heartbreaking, that I’m still thinking about it. This performance moved my soul, and I can’t do it justice.
The One Acts are now over, but I want to give major props to the cast, the crew, and especially the directors. You could tell when they gave their speeches right before their plays that they put so much heart and soul into making sure that everything looked good and worked well, and the resulting shows were amazing.
And you wouldn’t have even known that they were missing part of the cast, or that some of them were filling in on a last minute’s notice. The sets were beautiful, and I loved every single minute.