Author Archives: robbucher

“We’re all mad here”

You won’t want to miss Walnut Hills High School Theatre Department’s very first Student Directed One Act Festival, with two junior high plays: ALICE adapted by Lindsay Price from the novel by Lewis Carroll, & SUPERHEROES: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY by Ian McWethy; and two senior high plays: TERMINAL LUCIDITY: A DADA INSPIRED FEMINIST SCREAM by Amy Bernstein, & THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE by Christopher Durang. Each of the four plays will run with two performances in the Rick Steiner Black Box Theater.

ALICE Show Synopsis:
ALICE follows the white rabbit down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, where she meets a cornucopia of strange creatures. A caterpillar gives advice, the Mad Hatter and March Hare are always at tea time, and the Queen of Hearts continually cries, “Off with her head!” The Cheshire Cat says everyone in Wonderland is mad, and therefore Alice must be too. Has Alice lost her head? Only the Cheshire Cat knows for sure.

Directed by Sophia Rooksberry
Stage Manager: Lucia Johns

Featuring:
Kaelyn Carr as Alice, Wolf Singer as Cheshire Cat 1/Mad Hatter, Khara Rosebrook as Cheshire Cat 2/March Hare, Molly Rebber as Cheshire Cat 3/Doormouse, Ella Shaffer as White Rabbit, Nate Caudill as Caterpillar/King of Hearts, Josie Leanza as Pigeon/Queen of Hearts, Clare Graff as Duchess/Jury Member, Lizzy Rebber as Low Door/Cook, Theresa Nguyen as Door 1/Baby/Knave, Charleigh Bates Door 2/Footman 1/Card 2, Shannon Speaker as Door 3/Footman 2/Card 5, Aidan Brogan as Door 4/Lackey/Card 7, Paloma Lanzador as Key/Stove/Jury Member, Naima Jones as Bottle/Stove/Jury Member, Kyra Doty as Cake/Stove/Jury Member

SUPERHEROES: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY Show Synopsis:
For superheroes, saving the world is tough, but the time spent away from work is tougher. The Hulk has to do taxes, a crime-fighting sidekick joins a support group, and Batman goes stir-crazy without enough criminals to take down. SUPERHEROES is a funny, fast-paced series of vignettes that explores how the caped crusaders deal with life in street clothes.

Directed by Peter Godsey
Stage Manager: Chloe Burwinkel

Featuring:
Isabella Lachey as Black Widow, Maya Busche as Storm, Jude Shotwell as Batman, Sarah Gebremeskel as Nelly/Ventnor, Marcus Ray as Clark/Tommy, Anna Visger as Ulma/Teen 2, Iris Westfall as Tucker/Teen 1, Caitlyn Hollywood as Hulk/Jimmy, Nola Stowe as Woman/Tina/Fan, Helen Sandhu as Felicia/Mia, Alejandra Frecker as Orin/Client, Andrew Canter as Robin/Boss, Julia Wasem as Garth/Manager, and Katie Berich as Penelope/Teen Girl.

Both Junior High One Acts run Friday, December 6 at 7 PM, and Saturday, December 7 at 2 PM.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for staff and students.

TERMINAL LUCIDITY: A DADA INSPIRED FEMINIST SCREAM Show Synopsis:
She could be your friend, your neighbor, your relative: And she’s struggling to cope with a monster in her midst. What’s the right thing to do? Is there a right thing?

Directed by Bettina Ernst
Stage Manager: Grace Allen

Featuring:
Sophie Christian as Journalist, Lily Clark as Senator, Diana Hutchinson as Soldier, Uyen Dao as Offspring, Grace Kelly Fulton as Wife/Mistress, Avery Frank as Old Woman, Anna Gavin as BPC, Nina Roberto as Girl, and Sarah Mansfield as Baroness.

THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE Show Synopsis:
Having casually wandered onstage, George is informed that one of the actors, Eddie, has been in an auto accident and he must replace him immediately. Apparently, no one is sure of what play is being performed but George (costumed as Hamlet) seems to find himself in the middle of a scene from Private Lives, surrounded by such luminaries as Sarah Siddons, Dame Ellen Terry, and Henry Irving. As he fumbles through one missed cue after another the other actors shift to Hamlet, then a play by Samuel Beckett, and then a climactic scene from what might well be A Man for All Seasons—by which time the disconcerted George has lost all sense of contact with his fellow performers.

Directed by Talia Raider-Roth
Stage Manager: Hannah Wardlow

Featuring:
Allison Robertson as George Spelvin, Christina Picklo as Sarah Siddons, Lily Canter as Dame Ellen Terry, Colby James as Meg, Ella Vaughn as Executioner, and Jackson Prus as Henry Irving.

Festival Production Stage Manager: Olive Leonardi
Festival Assistant Stage Managers: Reagan Warvel & JP Oberst

Both Senior High One Acts run Saturday, December 7 at 7 PM, and Sunday, December 8 at 2 PM.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for staff and students.

To purchase tickets: https://sites.google.com/view/whhstheatredepartment/tickets