‘Tis the season for laughter and One Acts! From witches to homeless people to the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus to talking inanimate objects, all of the plays performed this year were unique and comical in their own way. The Student Directed One Act plays were performed November 18 and 19. Each director had two and a half weeks to cast, direct and perform a ten-minute comedy with casts between two to seven actors and actresses. There were eight plays directed by the following juniors and seniors: Maddie Barbeau, Ethan Bayer, Evan Lindquist, Jack Maleczka, Hazel Oreta, Justin Smusz, Justin Vasko, and Jamie Yerkes.

Junior Hazel Oreta (‘18) directed “My Big Fat Greek Divorce”. This comedy was about the divorce case between Zeus (Seven Acosta) and Hera (Olivia Heraty) and featured Artemis (Adrienne Tan), Medusa (Brooke Knapp), Athena (Elena Baranyk) and Aphrodite (Kristine Allen). Rehearsals were light-hearted and fun, yet focused enough to deliver a stellar performance.

Senior Justin Smusz (‘17) directed “The Boy Book,” in which two eccentric girls, Sue (Katie Ford) and Julie (Alexis Johnston), discover the book that reveals all the secrets girls know about boys. Smusz has been in every Drama Troupe production as an actor since his freshman year; however, he is not unfamiliar with working behind the scenes. Smusz has also assistant directed various Drama Troupe plays. His favorite part of directing is collaborating with the actors on how to bring a script to life. Smusz already knows theatre is in his future. As a senior, he is auditioning for ten schools within the next four months. His advice for future actors is to remember, “When you act, it’s important to let go of any insecurities that you feel in the real world and enter the world of the character you are portraying.”

Another director, Maddie Barbeau (‘18), opened the show with her play “Don’t Be So Hard On Your Shelf”. Theatre has always been her passion, and she’s already had lots of experience on the stage and some behind the stage but she stated, “Directing is a much grander task because I have to take everything I know about being on stage and everything I know about costuming and set design to create my own show.” By being a high school director, Barbeau was looking to utilize her creativity in a different way. The characters, Jamie (Ryan Murphy) and Shelf (Patrick Crowe), had a conversation about shelf mistreatment and why he should get rid of the books. Barbeau is an aspiring actress/scriptwriter but says, “Who really knows? Sometimes the best moments in life are when you decide to let your world shift and be pulled down new paths you didn’t plan for.”

The Benet Academy Student Directed One Acts is a much beloved tradition in St. Daniel hall. We are proud of our Redwings and applaud their performance!