There are lots of shows to see in Concord if you’re looking for an entertaining night out. Everyone knows about the cool movies at Red River Theatres, the fun plays at the Concord City Auditorium, the big productions at the Capitol Center for the Arts and the local music at pretty much all of the restaurants and bars.
But you might not know much about the hidden gem that is Concord High School’s Senior Directed One Acts.
The annual show is a chance for seniors to see what it’s like working on the other side of the stage, said Clint Klose, the high school’s drama director.
“It gives students a chance to put together and direct their own show,” Klose said.
These seniors run just about every aspect of the show; they’re in charge of directing, getting props, getting costumes, working the lights, working the sound – “the whole nine yards,” Klose said. And they do it all after school, with the drama club.
This year there are eight seniors directing six plays. And although the students direct the plays, they don’t write them all. This year features one original, student-written play: Disney Princesses and Princes, written and directed by senior Hanna Lee. The rest of the plays are written by other authors and playwrights and are directed by seniors.
The acting corps is made up of students from all grades, not just seniors. The reason directing is only for seniors is because “we like them to have three years here working with the program,” Klose said. With freshmen and sophomores, Klose said, often they’re just trying to get a sense of what being a high-schooler is all about, and it would be asking a lot to have a freshman try to direct a play.
The one-act plays have been performed for about 15 to 20 years, Klose said. Although the one-acts are popular among those involved and their friends and families, the show – open to the public – isn’t as popular as some of the musicals the school’s drama club puts on, Klose said, “but we definitely get a good audience.”
This year’s plays (and directors) are: Check, Please (Nathan Smith), America’s Next Top Model Student (Spenser Beaupre and Sam Wood), Overtones (Laura Braley), Disney Princesses and Princes (Hanna Lee), Lockdown (Sarah Nolin) and A Mad Breakfast (Meredith Dustin and Bizzy Willing).
As you may have assumed from the titles, there is no central theme tying the shows together, Klose said. It’s just a little collection of plays that appealed to the directors.
The shows are performed in somewhat of a festival style. The plays are about 40 minutes each, and each performance includes three plays. There are four total performances, with each play being performed twice.
So now that you know all the big details, there really isn’t much left to do besides go out there and see these young directors in action. Who knows, you might just see their next work at Red River, the Audi or the Cap Center.