Whitman Drama is performing student-run One Acts for the first time in four years this Saturday, April 23 due to drama students’ renewed interest and an earlier start to the creative process.
The production will feature five short plays directed by seniors Kaycie Goral, Harry Cash and Julia Sienkiewicz, junior Adrienne Kafka and sophomore Kevin Hatcher.
The plays range from 15 to 45 minutes in length and cover a variety of genres including comedy, drama and science fiction.
“It allows the audience to witness multiple different styles of theater in one sitting,” Goral said.
One Acts hasn’t been performed since 2012 because of time constraints from various other Whitman Drama spring activities, conflicts with other school events and a general lack of interest among drama students.
This year, there was an early enough start and enough determination from the Drama Club and Whitman Drama director Christopher Gerken, the sponsor of the program since it began in 2009, to reintroduce the production.
“Since we’ve been such an active drama club, we decided to bring it back,” Goral said. “We thought it was an important part of the student-run attitude that is Whitman Drama.”
To direct an act, students had to fill out an application and interview with Gerken.
“This year, we started a little earlier with director applications,” Kafka said. “We were just finally able to get it on its feet and we had a lot of interest.”
However, Gerken’s main role is simply to guide the directors throughout the process.
“I give the directors a lot of creative license but make sure to keep them on track and help them through the logistics of producing a show,” Gerken said. “This project allows every student the opportunity to perform and improve their skills.”
Unlike Whitman Drama’s annual winter play, the student directors intend to make One Acts less formal by emulating a black box theater with the audience seated onstage.
“It’s all about experimentation,” Goral said. “It’s about us figuring things out together, working as a team, and just having fun.”
One Acts will be performed in the auditorium at 1 p.m. with free admission.
“We’re pretty confident that it’s going to be just as good, if not better, than past years,” said Drama Club co-president Becky Keteltas, who is producing one of the plays. “We’re excited to bring it back.”
