A Night of One Acts at PHS on May 25-26
Source: The Porterville Recorder / www.recordonline.com /
Students from the Porterville High School Drama Department will take the stage on Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26 for A Night of One Acts, with five student directors and 20 actors working to present four short plays, including two original pieces.
Performances start at 7 p.m. and will take place on the stage of the Drama Room (A-7) at PHS, 465 W. Olive Ave., located next to the Porterville Memorial Auditorium. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students.
A Night of One Acts marks the last presentation of the PHS Drama Department for the school year.
The one-act play has often been ignored as a serious art form within the theatre world. Some playwrights and theatre-goers are skeptical of the one-act’s ability to tell a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end, within its limited timeframe — some one-acts last up to 45 minutes while others are as short as 10 minutes. However, a number of famous playwrights have sucessfully taken up the challenge of the one-act format — Tennessee Williams, Moliere, Arthur Miller, Vaclav Havel and Edward Albee are just a few of the prominent writers of the theatre who have taken time off from the luxury of full-length plays to indulge in the sparseness of the well-written one act. Long the favorite of high school and college drama departments, the one-act play has been increasing in popularity over the past 20 years through its prominent place at events such as the annual Humana Festival held in Lousville, Ky.
PHS Drama teacher Craig Caven likes one-acts because “they allow us to present a number of different kinds of plays and all in the same evening. Comedies, dramas, musicals, murder mysteries — name a type of play to provide numerous roles to our students; in one evening, an actor can have a lead part, a supporting role, and help out in the crowd scenes — all in different plays. In the end, our actors get more time on stage. One-acts allow students to gain directing experience; this year’s directors include senior Hunter Bock and juniors Leslie Ochoa and Robert Ramos. They get to experience what it takes to put on a show, from running rehearsals to picking our props and costumes for their own play. It gives them a whole new perspective on how a show is put together. I encourage everyone to attend one of the evenings to support these fine young performers.”
Tickets are available at the door starting at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 782-7279. Seating is limited.
