The Drama Club hosted productions on Thursday, February 13, and Saturday, February 15, performing two one-act shows and a short musical. The production sold 164 tickets for both nights and had a cast of 38 students.
“Because of the flexibility and the chance for different actors to try out different roles, we have been considering producing a series of short shows for quite a while now,” said Drama Director Maria Wishart. “The process involved several reading days where club members got together after school and read scripts. We weighed the pros and cons and considered what would be an enjoyable experience for the audience and the actors. We gradually narrowed them down until we settled on these particular shows. We went the route of light-hearted comedy.”
The first show the Drama Club performed was “Bittersweet Lullaby”. This 10-minute musical featured two struggling songwriters who lived in the same apartment decades apart. On one magical night, their voices connect through time, and they begin a collaboration that leaves them forever changed.
Senior Mary Cook and junior Cannon Lambdin played the main characters. “Bittersweet Lullaby” was Cook’s final performance in her high school career.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because, while I’m on my last show and realizing that it’s over and it all went by so fast is very sad, getting to see the younger kids perform their scenes and improve makes me so excited to see them take it over,” said Cook.
The second show was titled “When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors.” This one-act show featured a high school production of “Wizard of Oz” that goes badly.
Freshman Kayden Warren played Dorothy, junior River Hammond played the Scarecrow, senior Marcus Ellis played the Tin Man, and seventh grader Sagan Miller played the Lion. Warren’s favorite part of the show was when the show begins to fall apart.
“My favorite part of the show is when Dorothy, my character, goes on a rant and panics on stage. She starts to yell at everyone and gets completely fed up. It’s really fun to go through that scene,” said Warren.
The last show the club performed was “Will You Be My Nemesis?” This one-act show featured a superhero looking for a villain nemesis and a super-villain looking for a hero nemesis. A lot of crazy characters auditioned for both of the positions.
Sophomore Piper Frank portrayed the superhero Captain Battle, who was on the hunt for a nemesis, while junior River Hammond took on the role of the super-villain Dr. Nightmare, also on the hunt for a nemesis. Frank’s funniest memory came from a fellow cast member.
“My funniest memory was when Mr. Lindley called me a cow,” said Frank.
Wishart thought the shows went well.
“We overcame some challenges, including a lot of illness going around. We had a lot of people step up to fill in gaps and make things happen. There were some magical moments, and there were lots of funny moments—most of them scripted, some of them not. Every performance is an adventure. We had a lot of people step up to fill in gaps and make things happen,” said Wishart.
The Drama Club has finished its main stage season and will focus on creative projects, including writing projects, videos, and potential performances of short pieces like songs, monologues, and skits.