Near the end of every single year the Z theater presents the drama club’s student directed plays. However, this spring was different that any past student showings. “ At the beginning of the we decided to do four one acts instead of one student directed show”, said Kelan Farrell ’26, it was our very own one act festival. All of the shows were written and directed by four students, three of which were graduating seniors.
Jarren Fredrick ’25 with an eclectic western centered around bowling. “It all started in my creative writing class with Mr. Johnson,” says Jarren Fredrick when asked on the inspiration behind the show. He would later adapt that from a written assignment into the stage play that we see today. It follows the main character as she tries to stop a mysterious rider from setting ablaze an old western civilization. Her strained relationship with her father would lead to the ultimate reveal of who the rider is. The Slow Burn, was a truly amazing play centered around a silly premise, and was able to take that in stride and create a beautiful show.
Ramsey May’25, with 4 Square, following with the president of a silly premise. “It centers around a game of four square, that is played by high schoolers to the death.” according to Ramsey. It was an amazing show with heart, comedy, and a surprising amount of wit to it. With the game of four square there was such variety among the shows. It managed to make you relate to the characters through rivalries that often reflected real life high school drama. Down to the strange miscommunications that leading to all sorts of issues. It made you care and relate to the characters, due to the familiar the entire situation. It was sincerely amazing.
Max Bauer’25 with a story centered on a thoughtful questioning of mortality through the actions of a necromancer. “It about how two teenagers find that (necromancer’s) skull and then have to defeat her.” said Max. The plot is filled with twists and turns as you see this vulnerability among the characters. It manages to make you connect with the main character in a way you start to empathize with them. Then, somehow manages to do this in such a short amount of time. Tick Tock, makes the audience feel vulnerable and raw emotions so masterfully, and within such a short amount of time.
Finally, Kelan Farrell’26 with Backstage, a sisterly conflict as the center of it. “It’s about when a woman gets her dream role… and her evil sister comes back to take it all away,” says Kelan. Beyond the fact that it’s an amazingly written comedy, it digs at the heart of theater. It carries itself with this odd air of genuine events and satire of theater. In a way it writes as love letter to theater as a whole. Not just the parts on stage, but backstage as well.
“Directing is my lifelong dream,” says Max Bauer. Each of the shows had a unique blend of genuine heart, masterful storytelling, and quirk, that made them so special. However, this couldn’t come without inspiration behind the shows, the directors’ talent, and all the amazing actors. Truly this will be something that the Z theater will never forget.
