Fall One Act Plays 2023

Members of the North Hills High School Drama Club will present 3 student-produced one-act plays on Saturday, November 4 at 7pm and Sunday, November 5 at 2pm.  Each play has a student production team including a director, stage managers, light and sound operators in addition to the cast and crews.  Under the supervision of adult staff, the production teams put together all aspects of the shows from rehearsal to performance, providing visions for scenic, costume, and lighting design.  New for 2023 is the addition of a second day of performances, a Sunday matinee.

BOXES by Kendra Thomas (drama)
In this unique drama about coping with pressures and expectations from others, Jack is curious when he receives his box as a birthday present.  His confusion about the cubed oddity quickly turns to concern when his family, friends, and teachers begin filling his box with their expectations for him.  The heavier Jack’s box gets, the more burdened he feels by it — and the more Jack considers following his friend Chris’s lead and throwing his box away.  Before Jack casts away his own ambitions to relieve him from the stress of needing to please others, a strong supporting cast of friends helps Jack sort through what matters most and what’s worth holding onto.  Ultimately, Jack comes to understand that his box is filled, not with other people’s expectations for him, but with their hopes, so that he can create his own goals and dreams.  Award-winning playwright Kendra Thomas shows that straight answers are surprisingly hard to come by in this intimate one-act that tackles expectations, empathy, and embracing individuality.

PAPER OR PLASTIC by Werner Trieschmann (comedy)
For her first job, teenage Sarah thinks she's easily qualified to check out customers at Puritan Foods, her local grocery store. But Sarah isn't prepared for Carl, the assistant manager, who refuses to deal with unruly customers because he's too busy putting up Christmas displays in August. And she isn't ready to deal with the customer who can't put down her cellphone long enough to acknowledge that Sarah is there. And what about the mysterious cowboy or, even worse, Angus, the person who Carl warns Sarah about the day she's hired. Then there are her crazy co-workers who put on camouflage to hunt down stray grocery carts or live in closets and subsist on Twizzlers to avoid Carl. All Sarah wants is the answer to the simplest question in the world: Paper or plastic?

THIS IS A TEXT by Stephen Gregg (comedy)
Sophia needs to get a 61! If she gets a 61 on her Romeo and Juliet exam, she'll get into Coldwater State. But she was up all night, distracted by a mysterious text, and now she can't focus. Sophia's only hope: Flowcus, the concentration pill that sits tantalizingly close on the teacher's desk.  This Is a Text is a battle against an exam, waged during the age of distraction. Sophia's quest to get into Coldwater State ends in a way that neither she nor the teacher could have anticipated and leads to a conclusion that's both surprising and unexpectedly moving.

Tickets are $7 each for reserved seating and can be purchased beginning October 13 at www.nhchoiranddrama.net. The NH Drama Parents & Friends Association will also have raffle basket items available in the lobby during intermission to raise funds for the drama program at North Hills.