Nov. 6 through Nov. 9, Concord High School will be welcoming nine student directors for what has become a much-loved tradition in the school community – the Senior Directed One Acts.
“They’ve been running for about 20 years,” said Clint Klose, director of Concord High’s theater program. “The director before me did them, and the director before that. I think it gives seniors a chance to look at theater from the other side of the stage and give them perspective (and) compassion for other directors.”
The Senior One Acts are welcoming seven productions this weekend, with genres ranging from slapstick to serious, from absurdism to sketch comedy. The plays will run festival style over the four performance dates, with each play being run twice. The audience can expect to go from laughing to crying in merely the time it takes to open the big red curtains in the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium.
The excitement for theater among those involved with the Senior One Acts is palpable in the rehearsals, and it starts at a young age; with the theater programs at Beaver Meadow Elementary and Rundlett Middle School, all headed by Klose.
“I’ve known some of the directors since elementary school, some since middle school, and some I’ve only gotten to know recently,” Klose said. “It’s fun to watch them on their theater journey, and to see them develop a passion for the theater arts. Especially the students that take lessons; trying to get that trifecta of singing, dancing, and acting.
“Theater is really the only discipline that encomposes the ‘four arts’. Those being the visual arts, with the set pieces we’ve built, the musical arts, dance, and, of course, the dramatic arts.”
That’s a lot of artsy jargon if you ask us, but one of the youth directors offered a different perspective: Peter Newland is co-directing the play 4 A.M. with his friend, Jasmine Huffman.
“The one acts are a great and easy way to try out theater and get the experience, in a really simple way.” Newland said, “A lot of our actors are beginners, and not to sound super corny but, as they’ve grown, I’ve grown as a director.”
So, the veins of poetic monologuing are deeply ingrained in the whole of the CHS theater community, it seems. But this attitude will surely bear nothing but beauty this weekend at the Senior One Acts (for a schedule of times, check out the graphic to the right). Theater is a labor of love for the aspiring directors, who have spent the past two months casting actors, running rehearsals, designing sets, and writing lighting cues in their free time. These kids have been watching the Senior One Acts since they were freshmen, and their proud to be a part of this living legacy.
(If you don’t believe us on the living legacy, be sure ask one of the directors about the “phantom” of the 2013 One Acts when you go see their shows this weekend – you’ll hear a great story.)
We asked Newland if he was excited about seeing his art come to life after all his hard work, and his answer inspired.
“Hella,” he said. “It’s gonna be awesome, man.”
