This year’s annual Winter One-Acts Festival was composed of six comedies directed and performed by students. One of the six plays was written by students.
The One-Acts stand out from other GDS theater productions because they are entirely student-run. This is the first year that One-Acts are taking place without former Theater Director Laura Rosberg, who began the tradition 42 years ago in an attempt to encourage student leadership in the arts. Acting teacher Jim Mahady ran the One-Acts until 2020, and Rosberg helped expand them once he left GDS.
This year, they were supervised by János Szász, who filled Rosberg’s role after her retirement. Senior Joshua Reynolds, who directed Check Please, said that the plays are not heavily influenced by the change in faculty because they are led by students.
According to junior Henry Cohen, who acted in Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room and directed and wrote Centralia Love, a more significant change to the plays this year was their content. In previous years, One-Acts were a mix of drama and comedy, but this year, all six plays were comedies. “I think it’s good that people chose comedies because I don’t think dramas work as well,” Cohen said.
“People get to be more creative and make more relatable things that kids would find funny,” junior and actress Ava Ginsberg said.
Many students involved agreed that the One-Acts are different from other GDS productions because they are run only by students. “I think it’s really cool that GDS gives students the opportunity to run their own shows,” said junior Leia Levine, who served as a student production coordinator and the stage manager for one play.
Rehearsals took place two to three times a week, which is less frequent than most GDS theater productions. Levine said the frequency of rehearsals allows students to participate in other activities while still being able to be part of the One-Acts.
Cohen said the frequency of rehearsals and the fact that the plays are student-run creates opportunities for new actors to participate in theater and for experienced actors to try directing.
Reynolds said students come to support their friends who are directing or acting in the One-Acts. “It’s when we get the most turnout,” he said.
Junior Evelyn Chen said that the main reason she went to the One-Acts was because her friends were in them. “A lot of my friends are doing it, so it was a lot of fun to watch,” she said.
Junior Audrey Leff, who watched the One-Acts on Friday, thought that they were a success. “I loved it. I thought it was hilarious,” she said.
“In previous years, we’ve always had eight shows,” senior Avery Ludlow said, who served as a student production coordinator. Ludlow noted a difference in this year’s One-Acts. The shows were slightly longer than in past years, making it more convenient for there to be only six shows. The acts ranged from less than 20 minutes to more than 35 minutes.
Cohen believes that student buy-in—both as actors and directors and as audience members—is what makes the One-Acts so successful. “I think that’s what’s so fun,” he said. “It’s really a community thing.”