ONE ACT: Poly Theatre presents a series of performances in a manner the school has never seen.
By Crystal Hsueh, Staff Writer
On Friday, March 8, Poly Theatre premiered “The Light and Dark of Matter,” a student-directed one act festival produced by Cameron Webb (12) and Sabian DeArcos (12).
These one acts featured Poly students of all grade levels, many experiencing the stage for their very first time. The one act festival was performed for three consecutive days, separating the shows into two categories: comedies and dramas.
The categories included a myriad of performances, giving the actors multiple opportunities to explore different roles and providing parents and peers with the chance to view their loved ones in a genre of their choosing. The comedic acts included a heartwarming story spanning over the course of one year that takes place in a coffee shop, a stage version of an episode of the popular sitcom Friends, and a lighthearted meet-cute that keeps getting reset at the sound of a bell, along with two other performances that portrayed the talents and hardwork of the cast and crew. The dramas, however, included much more serious and slightly controversial subject matter. “As far as the choice to do dramas, my co-producer Sabian DeArcos and I felt that our program has a very well comedic presence, and wanted to challenge our actors with something darker,” said Webb. Tackling sensitive issues such as the Holocaust and school shootings, the actors strived to provide the audience with an experience that Poly is not accustomed to. For the students that performed in both the comedies and dramas, not only did they have to memorize twice the lines and blocking, they were also faced with the challenge of transitioning between two opposite sides of the emotional spectrum. “Performing in a dramatic scene was more challenging for me personally than a comedic scene because I’ve never had a super serious role like that before… The most challenging part for me was making the scene seem real, like making the romance and the storyline seem like it was following two real people,” Grace Seiberling (11) stated.
Along with the actors being able to connect to the audience through their strong performances and meaningful storylines, the audience’s seating arrangement was different from what students are used to, as they sat on stage, very close to the sets. “We wanted to have the audience on stage to create a more intimate experience. Our show didn’t rely heavily on effects or large set pieces, so we enjoyed having a ‘bare bones’ sort of feel,” Webb stated. Poly’s Theatre program and thespian society worked tirelessly for over six weeks to create performances that proudly portrayed the passion that the cast and crew put into their work, providing both the actors and the audience with an amazing experience.