Venice’s ‘Spring One Acts Festival’ was witty, intriguing, and creative.

The program debuted from May 6 to 8, and as the first annual show of its kind, I couldn’t have been more impressed. 

The first in-person production since 2019, it was a production that featured five one-act stories: Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson, Things That Go Bump In the Night, Come and Go, End of the Tunnel, and This is a Test. 

Each and every act was smartly executed and made me thoroughly enjoy the show.

Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson 

A dark comedy about suicide, Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson was by far my favorite act. It was right up my alley, and I was on the edge of my seat. 

This act took an interesting take on perspective and what makes entertainment entertaining. This act didn’t have a particular setting, which made it stand out from the others. 

Freshman Willow Coder played The Teacher, and was one of my favorite performers. She was believable, funny, and played her character perfectly. 

The crowd was laughing throughout the whole performance, including me. 

I’d consider this act the best performance of the show, and I hope to see these actors again in future school productions.

Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson is a play within a play about a guy who attempted to die by suicide. 

The main character, The Jumper (freshman Jose Garcia), is about to jump off a cliff, while his friend, The Good Samaritan (freshman Michaelangelo Lucero), tries to prevent him from doing so. 

Soon after, we find out that the main character and his friend are in a play directed by The Teacher. The teacher controls the actors with a loud clicking device, rewinding and showing the audience different techniques and plot devices that make a performance suspenseful and enticing. 

But then, the actors take the clicking device and start controlling the teacher. They all begin fighting, and eventually, the teacher gets shot. 

Things That Go Bump In The Night:

Things That Go Bump In The Night was about a girl named Tracy (sophomore Jaylen Germani), who believes people are moving her furniture at night.

In this act, the characters were solid, and although it wasn’t faultless, the set was well done. Many different pieces of unique furniture such as colorful lamps, sofas, chairs, and tables were included. 

Tracy believes people, called futon people, are moving things around her house. They wear all black and are supposedly fictional. 

She stays up and talks about how frustrating it is to not find them to her friend, Ben (sophomore Zoe Landry). As they discuss whether futon people are real or not, the futon people discreetly move the furniture in the house. 

Come and Go:

    Come and Go starred three women, Ru (freshman Zara Seldon), Vi (sophomore Zoe Landry), and Flo (freshman Aiden Weiss), in a poetic, emotional story about sick, elderly women. 

A sentimental act with talented actors, this was a shocking, passionate performance. This story touched on death, age, and tragedy, but made it an easier conversation. 

Even if the story wasn’t the easiest to follow, I believe the act was a beautiful interpretation of life.

In Come and Go, the women are all sick and about to die. They each have their own illnesses and they all whisper to each other how they’re going to die. At the end, they all decide to stay hopeful and hold each other’s hands in the dark. 

End of the Tunnel:

An eerie act that was special and the most emotionally evoking, junior Summer Hamzeh played a mother with a dead baby. 

Her acting was simply phenomenal. She portrayed an immense amount of emotion and suffering throughout her speech—you could feel the character’s heart wrenching pain.

Hamzeh is an extremely talented performer and she sparked a dramatic experience with the audience. I sympathized with Hamzeh’s character. 

End of the Tunnel is a story about a mother remembering her recent experience in a hotel fire. She recalls her experience to her daughter, who is writing an article about it. She says that she successfully got out of the fire with her baby’s bassinet. She believes that her baby is alive, but we find out that she got the wrong bassinet and her baby actually died. 

She’s in a mental hospital and she doesn’t remember anything correctly. At the end, she sings a lullaby to an empty blanket in the dark.

The twist was dire, shocking, and well executed. It was intense, suspenseful, and smart. 

This is a Test:

This is a Test was a funny, interesting character study about Alan (freshman Elize Waters), whose fears while taking a test manifest into reality.

This act was simple, but it was special because it had the most actors and the best set. The actors were talented and vibrant in this act, energetic and spontaneously bold. The different add-ons and twists all showed Alan’s personality.

Every thought and comment Alan has becomes a part of the test and classroom. All of the questions are personally difficult to Alan while the other classmates do fine. Mr. Williams (freshman Zara Seldon), the teacher, is oblivious to all of the students’ behavior.

Final Thoughts:
    With a tight-knit department, praiseworthy sets, and well-composed scripts, this was a distinctive show.

Each and every act was unique and the actors were all talented. I can tell that the theater department has a special bond. 

    This was the first play I’ve seen Venice’s theater department put on, and I was impressed.