A play? A whole play? Why would anyone want to do that? How do you even do that? If you’re anything like me, those are likely your first thoughts when you hear about One Acts. If you aren’t familiar, the One Acts are a series of plays directed and even occasionally written entirely by students.
One Acts begin with the director application forms released in May, which are quickly followed up by a staff interview. For the 2023-2024 school year, 14 directors were chosen across 10 plays. Once directors were chosen, they went straight into script work-shopping for the summer, constantly critiquing and reviewing shows between all of the directors and staff members. All of this ensures the best possible result especially for those writing their own story.
Casting is the next obstacle. Auditions consist of a four hour mishmash of impromptu acting and performances. All actors interested in performing in a show will get just a few minutes for each play to go through various scenarios and characters. Not only does the performance itself matter, but the chemistry between the cast and their actor-character dynamic plays a part as well.
Once the auditions have concluded, the directors go into a randomly ordered draft pick to choose their actors in effort to be completely fair. Deals and compromises can also be made after the fact to swap various people for different shows. This is to ensure that all performances, as a festival, are as strong as can be – not just one person’s show.
The day after auditions, casts are released; the day after that, rehearsals begin. While the specific rehearsal times vary by what production someone’s involved in, there are practices every weekday after school until showcase.
From witnessing the rehearsals firsthand, I began to understand the appeal. Senior student directer Anna Figliomeni admitted their appeal for directing was to create the same excitement for theatre they felt at the first show they saw. As described by theater director Ariel Mozes, giving students the chance to take charge and bring their own designs to life will not only develop skills for theatre, but life skills that’ll last past their show. Now that, I could write a play for.
