Jen Hight
Online Editor

The drama department has outdone itself this time. The two one-act plays presented on Feb. 2-3 were incredible. Even with their director out of commission because of her newborn son, the actors managed to put together an amazing show.

The first hour-long play, “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday,” was a serious drama of a family struggling to cope with the loss of Gillian (senior Molly Martin) as they try to celebrate her birthday after her death two years ago.

Her husband David (senior Zack Stalcup) is struggling with depression because of his wife’s death, and he’s taking his anger out on his daughter Rachel (junior Laryssa Chan). Rachel’s close friend Cindy (junior Sarah Glugatch) is a 16-year-old girl in love with David and copes with her unrequited love through drinking.

Esther (senior Kelly Iaquinta) is David’s sister-in-law, and her combative personality causes her to fight with David, making his depression worse. Paul (junior Jon Akkawi) is Esther’s husband, and the only one coping with his grief in the family.

Add to this toxic mix Kevin (junior Marta Fagenboym), an attractive young woman with a interest in David, and there’s a recipe for disaster.

The actors performances were phenomenal as they handled serious topics, such as under-aged drinking, depression, and neglectful parents, in a mature way that made the show even better. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience when Rachel told her deceased mother, “Happy birthday Mommy,” as the ghost of her mother held her close.

The play, while hauntingly beautiful, is a mature one. The one scene that stood out most is where David kisses 16-year-old Cindy on the mouth before sending her away.

The cast did a phenomenal job, and their excellent performance became all the more obvious when it was revealed their director, Laura Woods, left halfway through the rehearsals to deliver her baby. Sophomore Al Winters filled in for Woods and did a great job.

On the other end of the spectrum was the second one-hour play, “We’re Not Making This Show Up as We Go – Honest.” This rather strange comedy was directed by senior Tom Ash, who one of the drama program’s stars over the past few years.

This play was basically about a cast putting on a show where all of the actors get sick and the stage crew is forced to go on stage and perform.

Ralph (senior John Sexton) and Stu (senior Hayden Tessman) are two awkward stage hands who spent more times on their phones than they did watching the show, leaving them with no clue to the actual plot. Throw in Lynnette (senior Jen Miller) as the leading lady, and you have a wonderfully confusing comedy as the tech crew bumble through this one-act performance.

Ralph, Stu, and Lynnette have no idea what they’re doing, which makes their dialogue all the more hilarious, especially when they start praying for divine intervention to come and strike them dead. The dialogue would be considered awkward in any other show, especially the 10-minute discussion about chairs, but in this production it’s wonderful.

Seniors Rina Sires and Katie Meisel were phenomenal in the show as the only two characters who knew what was happening. But their shinning moment was when they stomped off stage in an angry huff. This doesn’t seem so special, except for the fact that Sires was wearing flats and Meisel thin high heels, and they managed to make their footsteps boom as they stormed across off stage.

From Stu’s love affair with his bucket of gravy, to Ralph leading the cast through a murder mystery as cows, this show was hilarious and kept the audience laughing.

With these incredible productions under their belts, it’s going to be fun to see how Cal High Drama tops these shows with their spring performance.