This spring, students in theater class are participating in the play You Can’t Take It with You for UIL One Act. Ashley Adair made Best Tech for setting up props. Parker McNally, Shannon Paradine, and Griffin Brown made Honorable Mention All Star Cast. Princess Johnson and Hunter Leach made All Star Cast. Parker McNally and Caroline Teinert made UIL One Act Play State Honor Crew. The entire play made Alternate Play to District while they were competing in the Zone competition.

      I was able to talk to Caroline Teinert (stage manager) and Kiera Price (Reba) and ask about their experiences in the competition.

      Me (to Teinert): “As stage manager, what did you do to contribute to the play?”

      Teinert: “As stage manager I orchestrated everyone else. I assigned jobs to all of the cast and crew members. We had to set our whole stage in under 7 minutes so I made sure that happened and went smoothly so we didn’t get disqualified. I was also in charge of cuing the light and sound people at the beginning of the show after I opened the curtains. I had to make sure everyone was in their place before the show began.”

      Me: “Do you feel some responsibility on how well the play goes?”

      Teinert: “Since we did a show where everyone stayed onstage the whole time, I felt like there wasn’t much I could do if something went wrong since I was offstage. I know that it was really an ensemble show and I contributed what I could, so yes I, in some way, felt responsible for how the show went even though I couldn’t do anything while it was actually happening. I could make sure the light and sound people were ready with their cues but beyond that there wasn’t much I could do. Having the stage set up properly made it easier for the actors to do well onstage. We worked so hard on everything before we ever performed it, so I do feel somewhat responsible for how well the play went. We all put a lot of time and effort into making it what it was.”

      Me (to Price): “Was this your first time doing something like One Act, and, if so, what was it like performing for a judge?”

      Price:  “[…] yes, this was my first time doing One Act. Performing in front of a judge makes you really nervous but excited all the same time. But at the end of the day, when we walk off that stage, we feel that we have accomplished something together as a team [and] a cast. During One Act we got to grow, and make new friends, and learn new things everyday all because of our amazing [and] talented director Mrs. Walters. We are glad to have her as a teacher. She makes us enjoy theatre and want to be more involved.”

      The main character is Alice Sycamore (Princess Johnson), who just happens to be born into the very loud and eccentric, family of Martin “Grandpa”  Vanderhoff (Hunter Leach.) Alice falls in love with her boss’ son, Tony Kirby (Sean Hardin). When Tony proposes to Alice, she asks him to wait for both their families to meet so she can show him what his life would be like if they were to get married. The play is a very comical story that shows what true love and having a real family means.

      The players:  Sarah May (Penny), Kiera Price(Reba), Shannon Paradine (Essie), Bryan Kelly (Ed), Tyler Richards (Paul Sycamore), Trevor Martin (Mr. DePinna), Hunter Leach (Martin “Grandpa” Vanderhof), Princess Johnson (Alice Sycamore), Griffin Brown (Henderson), Parker McNally (Mr. Kolenkov), Sean Hardin (Tony Kirby), Cooper Schultz (Mr. Kirby), Dominique Edwards (Mrs. Kirby), Krystal Garcia (Gay Wellington), Samantha Terrones (Mac), and  Griffin Brown (Man.) The stage manager for this production is Caroline Teinert.