One act to show a world of talent.
by Spencer Snell
photo by Ben Gilliland
After a performance like Chicago what could TJ Drama possibly have up its sleeve? Why, Spring One-Acts, that’s what!
The One-Acts are student written and directed plays that are presented on the 7th 8th and 9th of May. One-Act drama at TJ is a different style of play consisting of only one act, hence the name. One-Acts are a competitive version of theater where four student directors’ plays are chosen and the students cast, direct, write, and work tech without any help from the teachers. The four plays face off in groups of two per night, and one play from each night advances to the final round. On the third night the two top plays from each night compete, a vote is taken and the final play is chosen. The best part about all this… admission is free!
Four teachers, Eileen Adair, Sudi Stodola, Michael Palmieri, and, Jaqueline Hudson-Raila judged and selected the finals plays. “After an entire lunch period of discussing the merits of each play, we ranked the plays and came to an equitable decision. While we didn’t all agree on which ones were the best, we did agree that we had a fair decision-making process,” said Stodola.
They decided on the top four One-Acts and they are: Tangled by Natalee Pinson, 3:33 by Sinjin Jones, Angeline by Chris Wolter and 2012 by Dan Rios. Auditions were the April 10 and rehearsal began on April 14.
Student Director Jones said, "3:33 is a story about when three grizzly murders are committed, one man must find out who the culprit is… before he loses it himself.” There is also a manic murder mystery, and a zombie outbreak. Curtain opens at 7:00 pm tonight.
