By Staff Writer, ALexandra Von Ritzhoff

            Lights, cameras, action and the countdown begins. There is only one more week until the student-directed One Act plays are to be performed by the drama department on April 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th in the auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $2.                                                        

     First-year student directors were given eight plays to choose from. However, before making their decision they were required to write an extensive report on each play. Then they were given their choice of which One Act play they desired to direct.
These directors are in charge of the wardrobe, props, and the challenging decision regarding lighting and set design.                                                                                                  “The sets will be very simple; all [that is] needed are curtains, a door, a table, and chairs,” drama teacher David Huber said.                                                                          The to-be featured actors and actresses, rehearsing incessantly both in class and on their own time, were taken from a pool of about ninety drama students.                                         Every night, they will be showcasing a different one act play, lasting anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. The different acts encompass genres spanning from comedy to drama.                                                                                     
“My Client Curly” is about showman Jerry Flynn who is looking for an act to save him from financial ruins. In the midst of the play, Flynn stumbles upon a boy with a caterpillar named Curly.                                                                                                                         Alejandra Frias (’11) has quite a few parts in “My Client Curly,” her favorite of which is Find-Curleyite. Her goals for the play are to “remember my lines and not to mess up the play for everyone [else].”                                                                                   “Battle of Bull Run Always Makes Me Cry” is a romantic act about a girl who shows the audience a glimpse of her dreams, which all concern her infatuation with a boy named Patrick.                       
First-year director Angela Ma (’08) wants her “actors “to be able to give off the attention and emotion of the story and [have the] audience feel it [as if watching a movie].” Her expectations for the actors are “professionalism,” she said. “I expect creativity [and] bringing the character to life.”                                                                                                                                         David Margaryan (’11), who plays the part of Patrick, has similar goals.
“I want to show emotion” and to “get into the character,” Margaryan said.                                 Beginners as well as Advanced Drama students will be performing in the eight-minute Shakespearean acts which will be part of a competition the following week.      
“Every year we [have] a wide level of talent and abilities,” Huber said.