One-Act Team’s Final Performance
Lights, camera, action! The adrenaline was high when the Maywood students walked on to a 52 foot stage in the North Platte High School auditorium. Even Coach Carroll took his boots off and started to pace back and forth behind the stage. At 8:00 p.m. the lights were hot and all eyes were on the eight teenagers struggling with challenges faced by today’s youth. One fights for fun; one is caught in the middle of his parents’ divorce; another longs to be noticed; and one must make peace with her terminal disease. What they all have in common is they love to communicate with their peers through social media and a huge part of that is taking “selfies” – using their smart phones to take and post pictures of themselves. Even though the cast didn’t earn the scores they’d hoped for, everybody did a nice job, and the coaches were both pleased with the effort and results they got from it. “The students really improved in their skills such as voice projection and assuming the persona of their character,” stated Coach Heaton. According to Heaton, “This was a challenging play to perform because it is quite modern and utilizes a minimalist set. The meaning and energy of the script must come directly from the energy of the performers and their ability to engage with their character and the audience.”
Just like volleyball, basketball, and track have seasons, one-act does, too. The play season begins in the August and finishes with district competition usually in late November or early December. Maywood students that participated this year in one-act finished their season with districts in North Platte on December 3, 2014. Through the season the actors worked very hard with practices in the mornings at 7:30, in the gymnasium; in between sports they practiced right after school. They performed their play three times for the public. One time for the community at the school, the second time was at conference, and the last time was at districts to “act” for a chance at state. For districts they had to make a change in the cast with freshman, Amanda Smith joining the group. Coach Carroll added that “We were pleased and thankful that Amanda filled in for us at the last moment. She really stepped up to the challenge.” Although the team will be losing several seniors next year, the younger cast members gained valuable experience and are ready to return even stronger next season.