These past two weeks, the IHS theater department has been putting on the Spring One-Act Festival. Instead of a full Spring production, live theater-enthusiasts can purchase tickets to see either two or three shows each day from May 10 through May 18. I attended the opening night performances of “Sylvester Steele: Feline Force of Justice,” “Zinnia,” and “Holding On,” and was immensely impressed with directors’ visions, the actors’ talent, and the crew’s effort – all culminating in an exciting Friday night. Each act is student-directed, meaning IHS students imagined, conceptualized, and wrote all three into existence. Senior Tucker Purvis created the catman detective story “Sylvester Steele,” senior Julia Nelon penned the reflective piece on grief “Zinnia,” and senior Ryder Geraci brought to life his musical “Holding On.”
“Sylvester Steele” features an unorthodox pairing of detective partners: Sylvester, a man believing himself to be a catman detective, played by senior Kaden Madsen-Lerberg, and his timid but intuitive ally, Michael, played by junior Cassidy Hoffman as they attempt to avenge a slaughtered feline. The story is set in 1940s Kansas City, with frequent references made to the obscurity of the location as it contributes to the overall “nothing matters” motif. I was laughing throughout the entire show, from when Madsen-Lerberg debuted his deep Sylvester drawl – sporadically broken up by meows – to the layered ending. Every actor knew the effect of their lines, successfully delivering them with purpose and receiving laughter echoing off the walls of the blackbox theater. The side characters provided just as much comedy as the main catman, including notable performances from junior Braden Innes playing officer Bones, senior Therine Medeiros as Johnny Cobbs, and junior Evan Jenkin’s ensemble role.
Director Tucker Purvis shared, “I was inspired to write a play about nothing. The whole point is that nothing matters, and the main moral of the story is to not be yourself, hopefully in a funny way.” The One Act festival is the only annual opportunity for students to direct. Purvis says, “I wrote it but I am also directing it right now which means being able to coordinate light, sound, and what kind of movements I want actors to do. It has been really fun working with people and finding their ideas. It is a lot of input that I am taking, and being a person who not only wrote something and wants to have a specific idea but working with other people.” Purvis’ “Sylvester Steele” was a witty, surprisingly thought-provoking show, and made me eager to see the remaining two.
Julia Nelon’s “Zinnia” had a simplistic set: a couch, a bookshelf, one chair, and a side table where fittingly, a canary yellow zinnia is perched. This allowed the actors and dialogue to take center stage. The story explores different approaches to grief through the 5 characters: Allie, played by sophomore Eva Rodriguez, Daniel, played by freshman Carter Underwood, Jennifer, played by freshman Sofia Bruestle, Scarlet, played by freshman Makena Krattli, and Theo, played by junior Reagan Magee. Briefly, it is mentioned that the sixth member of their crew, Zinnia, died in a hiking accident, and the group has not seen each other since. Throughout the act, they work through tension that lingers over the scene, made palpable by the actors’ commitment to their characters. They explore each of the stages of grief in a modern context; for example, Bruestle’s character Jennifer has turned to a dependence on social media.
Underwood shared, “Everyone on the cast is super fun and accepting, it has been a great experience. “Zinnia” is the only pure drama amongst the One Acts, whereas “Sylvester Steele” is a comedy and “Holding On” has both. Underwood says, “It is just acting. We have just as much fun doing drama, the topics are just heavier.” Nelon’s “Zinnia” is meditative and hopeful, leaving the audience to think about the people they hold dear.
Frequently, throughout the productions, I startlingly remembered that each set design ushered in and out, every movement that actors made, and every word Juliana sang as Marie was chosen by the students that had a vision. The theater department is made up of committed, artistic individuals making dazzling group projects that a theater full of people see each night. Consistently, the sense of community is present. In between scenes, the run crew is cheered for by name. After the shows, every cast and crew member is laughing and congratulating each other.
Purvis shared, “I took theater last year. My junior year I took a lot of hard classes and I put theater as one of my alternatives. It was an extreme back up, so when I got it at the beginning of the year I was a little frustrated because I did not want to be in the class. But after being around the people and being in the class, I started to really like it. I was never a great actor, but I like being able to talk with people in theater. We were given a final project to write a scene, so I wrote a scene and we performed it, and it was really fun, and my teacher liked it so much she asked me if I wanted to write a one act play, and I thought that would be really fun, so I did it.” And the result of Purvis’ class schedule blunder was me and the rest of the audience laughing at the ridiculousness of a catman detective on Friday night.
