By: Ainsley Hall
HEDGESVILLE — The Hedgesville High School Theater Department is preparing to perform “Return of the Script” by Don Zolidis for competition.
On Jan. 30, students plan to perform for the public, giving people in the community the chance to see what they’ve been working on.
The story follows Miss Walters, a high school theater teacher played by Leila Allen, who fails to return a script after her students’ production. Two agents, played by Nathaniel Weber and Aleyah Jackson, come to track her down, while Miss Walters is forced to travel to Europe to find the foreign exchange student, who took the script home.
Kianna Rogers, member of the marketing and promotion team for the production and one of the actors, shared that the group wasn’t originally planning to do anything for competition this year. After going to nationals last year and working on other productions, drama teacher Kelli Cooper didn’t think the group would be able to do it. However, Rogers and many of the other students didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so Cooper surprised them with this new challenge to see how far they could get by performing a comedy.
“Comedies can be harder to progress in competitions,” Allen said. “That doesn’t mean they can’t do well but makes it more of a challenge. Our area tends to send more tragedy shows.”
With a comedy comes unique challenges. One of the biggest things these young actors had to learn was to not force the humor and simply let it come naturally. By taking the story seriously, the funny moments throughout the play will connect better with the audience. Having the perfect cast members and connecting with the crew makes this a lot easier.
“I feel like this group is so organically funny together, that it makes me feel like I don’t have to act,” Allen said. “I can really feel those emotions, and sometimes it’s hard not to laugh during a scene.”
For students, theater is a place to be with friends and have fun, while also learning valuable skills such as time management, public speaking and more.
Weber shared that theater feels like home and is a place where everyone can be themselves. Aleyah Jackson shared that she joined theater her sophomore year, which helped come out of her shell and make more friends. Donald Schapley, a member of the marketing and promotion team and photographer for the production, joined the group recently, but shared that he feels welcome and has had a lot of fun working with everyone.
The public performance will be at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30, with tickets costing $5. Meanwhile, the regional competition will take place Feb. 1 at Spring Mills High School.