By: Erin Moore

This weekend, Highland Park’s theatre department will be putting on their first of two weekends of Winter One Acts.

While Highland usually only has one weekend of five one acts, this year there will be two weekends: five shows the first weekend, and six shows during the second. The first weekend’s shows will be January 19th at 7pm, January 20th at 2pm, and January 20th at 7pm.

All performances will be at school in the auditorium. Tickets are priced at $5 for students and $10 for adults, which can be paid in check, cash, or card. Students of Nancy Michael get in free!

Winter one acts are short, student-directed plays, and a great way to begin participating in theatre, as casts are small, and there are more opportunities for both actors and tech crew.

This weekend, the one acts being put on are ‘Cut,’ ‘Who Killed Emma,’ ‘Super Dead Man,’ ‘Passing Strangers,’ and ‘Appropriate Audience Behavior’ in order of performance. The total show will be around two hours, with a short intermission between the third and fourth one acts, where audience members can purchase concessions or merchandise outside of the auditorium.

‘Cut’, the first one act of the evening is directed by seniors Ella Tjaden and Sophia Paske and written by Ed Monk. According to Playscripts.com, “A group of actors rehearses a play within a play within a play. As the plot complications multiply, the actors begin to forget who is playing whom and who is the real director — as opposed to the actor who is playing the director, or vice versa. Then they can’t seem to remember who they really are, as opposed to the people they are playing in any of the various scripts. Then things start to get confusing…”

‘Who Killed Emma,’ directed by Piper Crosby, Annika Getz, and Sally Norby, began as a short IB film, but has developed into a hilariously entertaining one act. True crime podcast hosts Rachel Day and Casey Williams have chosen the unsolved murder of highschooler Emma White as their focus for the newest episode of their podcast. Through interviews with those who knew Emma best, they slowly begin to unravel a case that has remained unsolved for a decade.

The next one act is ‘Super Dead Man,’ directed by Nora Abenth. “Comedy and awkward moments are the best combination. You wouldn’t want to miss that now, would you?” While it’s the shortest of the one acts, it’s the perfect show to end on before the show’s intermission.

‘Passing Strangers,’ written and directed by Finn Black and Dmitriy Mangal follows the stories of six strangers as they find themselves stuck waiting for a train together. They help each other deal with their conflicts and come to terms with truths they don’t want to accept. This show is a sweet example of how healthy friendships and familial relationships can change lives.

‘Appropriate Audience Behavior,’ directed by Leo DeWolfe and Ryan Mitchell and written by Ian McWethy, concludes the first weekend’s show. The directors described their one act as, “A comedy about a local theater’s production of ‘Hamlet’, which focuses on the shenanigans in the audience. From talking to chewing, they don’t seem to know the proper etiquette.”

Everyone involved in these one acts–actors, directors, stage managers, props department, set designers, costume department, etc–have worked incredibly hard to make these amazing shows what they are, but the audience is why the work is put in. If you find yourself interested and able to attend, seeing them this weekend is a great way to support the theatre department.

Next weekend, six other one acts will be performed at the same times as the shows this weekend. Next week, an article detailing their plots will be up if you’re interested in reading.

If you’re interested in being involved in future productions, ask someone directly involved in theatre, look at the hptheatrearts Instagram page for information, watch for posters with audition QR codes, or contact Nancy Michael directly for acting in the shows or being on tech crew.