By TORRI VAALE
Panther Press
NRHEG drama enthusiasts began the process of creating this year’s contest one act play with auditions this past week. Casts are being found for two plays. This year’s contest play is titled “The Blue and the Grey.” Another piece for entertainment and skill building is the humorous “Paper or Plastic?”
The One Act Play will have two directors this year. Long-time director Amanda Inouye left the NRHEG staff last spring, so a new director was needed to fill her shoes. Teachers Deb Bently and Solveig Sundblad stepped forward to fill this role. “I am directing the One Act Play this year because we have many students who love the performing arts and I do not want to see them denied the opportunity,” said Bently, who served as director for about five years before Inouye took over. She will be working together with NRHEG sixth-grade teacher Solveig Sundblad this year. Sundblad told the Panther Press, “I acted in four One Act Plays before. so I wanted to be a part of it again. I want to be able to help create some of the same experiences I had for these students.”
As of November 18, about 15 students have signed up for auditions using a new electronic format and tried out either in pairs or small groups. Among those signed up is senior Brittyn Anderson. “This will be my fifth year doing the One Act Play. We have two new directors and I am excited to work with them. I am looking forward to seeing what Sundblad will do because this is her first ever time directing One Act and I'm excited to see her thoughts and ideas in our plays.”
With new directors and great plays this year there are high hopes. “I am very excited to see how our actors and actresses portray the emotions of their characters. My hopes are for the folks taking part to build up their acting skills and bring out their emotions.” said Bently.
Director Sundblad told us, “By the end of it I hope everyone is proud of their experiences. I am excited to start rehearsals and see how the plays that we chose come together in the end.”
This will be senior Brittney Rocha’s fifth year participating in One Act. Rocha shared her hopes about this year's plays, “I am looking forward to seeing all the new cast and am excited to work with the new directors. I can’t wait to see how the plays come together. I believe it will be a good year and I am excited for our performances.”
Last year's One Act was greatly affected by COVID-19. “I am looking forward to subsections this year the most. Last year was very different; we had to film all of our plays. My hopes for this year is that it is back to normal and that we will be able to watch other schools perform,” said Brittyn Anderson.
One Act will perform “The Blue and Grey'' at subsections on January 29 and hopefully will move on to perform at sections on February 5. The local performance dates are yet to be determined, but are expected to be in mid-February. Both plays will be performed one evening for members of the student body and the public.