With the state-wide UIL One-Act Play coming up in March, the theater department has already started preparing.

According to theater director Heather Willingham, the rehearsal process has been going smoothly so far, and the cast and crew have had fun working on this type of production.

“UIL One-Act Play rehearsals are going very well,” Willingham said. “This is extremely process-focused work, so even though there is the final product in the form of production, the energy in rehearsals is geared towards character development, relationships, and telling the story. ‘The Actor’s Nightmare’ is a dark comedy, so we are having a great deal of fun exploring the humor inherent in the script, as well as the darker themes in the subtext.”

Freshman Fabiana Rosario is excited to move out of her comfort zone and try different facets of theater. 

“I am definitely looking forward to trying all these new things. I usually lean more towards the acting aspects of theatre but this time around I am the stage manager for the show so it’s obviously a new challenge but it’s definitely a fun one,” Rosario said. “We have a lot of unique and different ideas for the staging and I just can’t wait to see the end results.”

With all the hard work that has put into the show so far, rehearsals have become something sophomore Riley Opiela looks forward to.

“Usually rehearsals can be tiring but they’ve been really fun and I’ve been looking forward to them at the end of the day,” Opiela said. “We’re working hard and our cast works really well together so I’m excited to see where the show goes!

Having already done a full production adhering to strict COVID guidelines, the social distancing restrictions have not added a lot of extra pressure.

“Because we have already gone through the whole rehearsal and production process once this year, with ‘The Laramie Project’, this time around has not been bad at all,” Willingham said. “I think that both students and directors are so used to these restrictions now, that it has begun to feel somewhat normal. In all honesty, we are so thrilled to be able to be producing theatre in any form, that we will gladly follow any guidelines thrown our way.”

Even with COVID, the theater department has still found a way to stay safe and get their work done, however, Rosario still misses the true social and friendship aspects of theater.

“COVID has definitely impacted our rehearsals in a very interesting way,” Rosario said. “We as a company all understand that we need to be as safe as possible to ensure we can put on the show, but at the same time, everyone just wants to make friends and talk and just be social. So it’s definitely been a challenge in that aspect trying to remind ourselves to stay apart but we definitely are managing it.”