Cal High’s winter play, “Dear Editor”, hits the stage on Thursday and Friday.

The play was written by senior Shiphrah Moses, who is the managing editor for The Californian, and directed by senior Genevieve Vega and Aleeza Zakai.

“Dear Editor” is about a woman, Elise (Melody Mulugeta), who is re-starting a magazine. Three interns, Irene, Ada, Marcus, and her assistant, May, are helping her get ready to launch.

Irene (Mikal Mulugeta), Ada (Lia Roy), Markus (Devin Addiego), and May (Maddy Reedy) are supposed to be sorting old papers in the basement one day when they find letters addressed to the magazine. “Dear Editor” was the name of the column where people could send messages to an editor and receive feedback.

Throughout the play, there were glimpses of struggles people were facing in previous generations. These struggles were similar to the ones the four were facing in the present day, and after each letter, they gained some more insight on unclear issues.

I liked the underlying message the play communicated on the uncertainty the future may hold. Through the past and the present, the characters were not completely certain what the future holds for them, which led them to become scared.

I liked how clever each character’s personality was, especially from the past. In the past, when the characters were writing to the editor, their personalities were shown through visuals and the way they spoke.

Each character was brought to life in a distinctive way where the viewer could understand and relate to some of the struggles they are dealing with, including characters from the past and present.

The lighting played a big role during the play. For example, in sadder or more nostalgic times, the light turned whiter and dark. A single spotlight on a character emphasized the past period when each character was writing to the editor.

When I was first thinking about the play’s theme, it took me a while to understand what it was trying to tell me. But once I started to think more about the connection between the past and the present it was easier to understand.

One thing that could be improved upon is the backstory of each character. Although there is some information given, I think it would have been more interesting to hear more about their past and even their future after the internship at the magazine.

The internal character development was easy to follow and this did allow viewers to gain some more background on each character. Characters’ dialogue and tendencies allowed viewers to figure out who they were as individuals

The video of play, which was filmed by junior Dylan Burlingame, was submitted for the Lenaea High School Theater Festival, an annual competition where students have their work judged by theater professionals.

Both performances this week will be at 7 p.m. at the Cal High.