I have seen a few plays before, but I must say I have never laughed, cried, or been more shocked in my life as much as I was by a group of talented students from Richard Montgomery High School who acted, directed, and produced four unforgettable one act plays: “The People” by Susan Glaspell, “Shoot the Moon” by Aaron Hwang, “Boy Meets Girl: A Young Love Story” by Sam Wolfson, and “The Scary Question” by Wayne Rawley.
The show began with “The People,” written by Susan Glaspell and directed by Christine Pash. The story takes place in 1917, when a struggling newspaper company CEO Edward Willis (Matias Cardinale) receives unwanted advice from the people who claim they can make the paper better. However, one young woman from Idaho (Madeline Winstel), a teenage boy from Georgia (Will Green), and a man from the Cape (Audra Jacobs) come to the office reminding Edward about a piece that he had written a while ago that forever changed their lives, and he regains confidence in his writing. I found this play a bit confusing, but with a very deep message. Sometimes small things can really have an impact on who you are and what you do. Words are powerful no matter how you use them, and people don’t seem to always know that.
The second one act show, called “Shoot the Moon” and written and directed by Aaron Hwang, begins with a young girl named Amadeus (Helen Hanger) who is shocked by the fact that she wakes up on the moon with her friend Clay (Matthew Daniels). While Amadeus wants to find a way to get off the moon, Clay decides to make the best of their situation by playing Go Fish with his reluctant friend. After running around the moon twice to no avail, Amadeus talks to Clay about how the Earth and the moon are so different, though Clay disagrees with her. After discussing the pros and cons of the moon and the Earth and kicking the playing cards off into a crater, Amadeus goes fishing to get them back and falls into what seemed to be a deep drop off leading to a different path of discovery. Clay quickly joins her, and the two walk off talking about what they will discover together. I found this play extremely comedic and it showcases the importance of friendship.
The third play, “Boy Meets Girl: A Young Love Story” written by Sam Wolfson and directed by Cecilia Verlarde and Diana Gonzalez Ramirez, begins with five-year-olds Katie (Hannah Woerhle) and Sam (Oscar Saywell) on the playground during lunchtime. After getting to know each other, Sam issues a “Will You Be My Girlfriend” contract to Katie, who immediately accepts. In the next scene we see Sam and Katie sit up on the ground, after apparently “napping together.” Katie blurts out that she has “napped” with several boys and Sam is furiously jealous, especially of Katie’s other friend, Tim. After backstabbing each other, Katie and Sam break up and both are heartbroken. Katie calls Sam the next day and tells him she is going to Disneyland for ten days, which saddens Sam. They meet once more on Halloween, and talk about Katie’s trip. Sam admits he doesn’t want her to go, but Katie is interrupted when their P.E. teacher makes them play a game of Under the Parachute. After the teacher has an emotional breakdown, Sam and Katie run under the parachute and embrace. I found this play adorably funny. Both actors played the children flawlessly and really blew me away.
The final one act play, “The Scary Question” written by Wayne Rawley and directed by Isabel Dunn, begins with Brian (Dash Yeatts-Lonske) watching the news while his girlfriend Linda (Olivia Antezana) sits on a couch reading a book. Brian then turns off the TV and announces that he has something to ask Linda. He kneels down in front of her, and she of course is expecting a proposal when he asks “What would you do if the zombies attacked?” Linda obviously is confused and gets angry that he asked her such a silly question. After arguing about their likes and dislikes, Brian prepares to leave to give Linda alone for a bit, until she blurts out, “What about flamethrowers?” Linda completes her plan of how to get away from the zombies, and Brian approves. I thought this play was a little strange, but the acting was great and it showed that in order to love someone else, you might have to compromise in peculiar ways.
These talented students have fabulous writing, directing, and acting skills. All the cast and crew members were wonderful. I look forward to more plays at Richard Montgomery High School, and would highly recommend this drama department for anyone with an interest in theater.
Article by Corrina Davis, MoCo Student staff writer