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January 11, 2007
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January 11, 2007 |
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Lights, knights, superheroes: it’s the YSHS one-act plays
Every year at the Antioch Theater, writers, directors and actors from Yellow Springs High School get to show their stuff with a series of one-act plays they produce entirely on their own. Through student-to-student collaboration, intriguing plots come together, actors bubble to the surface and invariably, humor greases the skids to deliver both the dramatists and audience members to a weekend of fun and surprise. This year’s six one-act plays, featuring Arthurian knights, human superheroes, an alternate-ending detective story and a not-so-wonderful life, open next weekend at the Antioch Theater. Shows are Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19 and 20, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. Rehearsals start Monday, according to one-acts coordinator Jill Wells, who said the “brilliant writers and energetic performers” have the tools to produce “a fantastic show.” Writers Mary Hyde and Peter Keahey agreed. “As always, the one-acts will come together with glory,” Hyde said. “After the first show,” added Keahey, with a wide grin. Keahey wrote prolifically for this year’s production, involving himself in four different one-act plays. Keahey and Anna Forster co-wrote “Diagnosis,” the story of a waiter’s first day at work and the bizarre customers he encounters. The story is a social commentary on the observation that there is no such thing as normal, Forster said. Keahey also teamed with Peter Lovering to write “A Not So Wonderful Life,” which Keahey described as a reverse take on the Jimmy Stewart film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The play is about how much better the lives of the townspeople would be without the interference of the jerk who is ruining them, Keahey said. Sisters Mary and Laura Hyde co-wrote “With Bated Breath,” about the rise and fall of a high school debate club in a school with a principal not unlike YSHS’s Principal “Gudge,” called Principal Fudge, in a town not unlike Yellow Springs, called Golden Geyser. As for the one-acts with single authors, Meg Hild wrote a fast-paced medieval play with themes from Sir Lancelot and Guenevere called “King Arthur, the Untold Legend.” The tale, featuring some Old English mixed with modern-day turns of phrase, covers the three days before the final battle King Arthur is called to wage against the Saxons, breeching a treaty between two empires. Keahey’s final two plays, “A Brilliant Deduction” and “Man Man,” are comedies waged by daring duos attempting to solve crime. In “Deduction,” Jerry Snitch and his assistant, Wendy, are embroiled in a film noir-like intrigue to find a missing man, ending in a different snare each night of the show. In “Man Man,” the manly superhero, Manly Manson, teams with his man-boy sidekick to save humankind from evil forces. “Man Man” is produced by Rosa Dixon. Interwoven between each one-act will be a series of commercials written by Sam Borchers. Coordinating the one-acts constitutes the directorial debut for Wells, who said she has been impressed with the quality of work the students produced and the initiative they took to produce their own shows. “I get kinda bored because they’re so independent,” she said. Wells, who works for the Greene County Combined Health District, minored in theater and taught drama through the YMCA for several years. She moved to Yellow Springs in September and found the one-acts has been a good way to get involved with the community, she said. Also participating in next weekend’s production are actors and stage crew members Alex Visbal, Toby Cromer, Simon Freeman, Kyle Buchwalder, Kumar Jensen, Zeke Hardman, Zyna Bakari, Max Fleishman, Michelle Click, Drew Stratton and Kevin Mayer. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, and reservations can be made after Jan. 15 by calling 767-1105. Proceeds will benefit the high school’s spring musical. Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com
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