One Act in a Black Box is a one act play performed in the Flex Theater at the East Middle School. This one act is specifically for freshmen and sophomores or students new to the theater world.

In addition to the One Act, the theater department is working on the show ‘See How They Run’, due to the hectic schedules English teacher Kelly Cease is directing. Sophomore Kerstin Randolph acknowledges the importance of Cease filling in for theatre teacher Todd Schnake. 

“Mr. Schnake normally directs, but they wanted to put this show onto somebody else, so he wouldn’t be running two shows at the same time. He’s done that before, and it’s crazy stressful, so Mrs. Cease loves to direct, and she’s directed a couple shows in the past. She just kinda showed up and said ‘Hey, I’ll do it,’” said Randolph.

Performing the show on the 24, 25 and 26, the one act’s plot revolves around three high schools competing at a festival. 

“The one act is called ‘Competition Piece’, and it is about three area high schools that are competing in a one act festival. They are all different types of schools. One is a metal heads. Another group is preppies and then there are the art students. And the play just focuses on how they interpret the one act that they bring to the festival,” said Cease.

Auditions for ‘Competition Piece’ were in late December, Freshman Jadyn Bramble feels like the show preparation process was unique and different to other shows in the past. 

“First you got to audition, and then you go to all the practices, makes sure your learning your lines, remembering your blocking. Since it’s in the Flex, we’re using boxes instead of big sets, so it’s a lot easier. There’s like 20 to 30 people in the cast, so we don’t have to be like, ‘Oh no, I’m going to forget something’ because it’s very set in stone,” said Bramble.

As the director, Cease wants the young actors to show her that they understand what they are working for.

“At rehearsals we really focus on characterization because there are not a lot of tech elements in the play, so I really just try to focus on voice projection. That they bring a lot life to their characters that each of the three different groups have a variety of qualities that are different from the other ones,” said Cease.

New to the show process, Randolph did not exactly know what to expect, but kept an open mind to the process.

“I think it’s kind of a different process to what we’re used to because we usually do a one act in classes, but we normally don’t have Mrs. Cease as a director, so that’s interesting. This is just exclusively like a freshman, sophomore showcase type thing, which we haven’t done much of, or at least while I’ve been here I haven’t really much of that kind of stuff. It’s going to be interesting to see how it turns out, and how it’s going to be different from having a whole school show,” said Randolph.

Randolph’s advice to any new coming was justified with the results of an experiment.

“Be willing to put yourself out there because a lot of people are scared to take that leap. It’s just something that scares people. There was actually a study that found more people are afraid of public speaking than they are of dying, but once you’re willing to put yourself out there, it becomes easier and it can really help you in the future with job interviews or just being a more fun a sociable person,” said Randolph.

Bramble tip to anybody nervous about acting is to give it a try.

“I’d say just go for it because a to of people are too scared to do it. Like, ‘Oh, I have stage fright’, but once you’re up there, and you just do it you find all these people and you know what’s going to happen and of course there’s going to be a couple things where you’re like, ‘Oops, did not expect that’, but you just kind of get into it when you’re doing it. Even if you’re not really wanting to, it’s good to at least try,” said Bramble.

Cease told students, who were uncertain about acting, that even if being on stage was not for them, there are plenty of other opportunities in the theater department.

“I would tell them just always audition anyways just because any kind of audition opportunity will help them feel more comfortable on stage. I would also advise them; if they are nervous about acting that they can always get involved with the tech elements. There’s a variety of different technical skills, like props and set design and costumes, where we always need students,” said Cease.

Whether on stage, back stage, or in the audience, One Act in a Back Box is a memorable experience.