The Boston Latin School One Acts were back on stage this year! The One Acts, an annual performance of three plays, were performed by students from grades seven through nine. This year, the performances took place on November 4 and 5 in the auditorium.

Last year, due to the pandemic, all performances were held virtually. Thanks to the school’s reopening for in-person learning, the One Acts returned to the stage this year. The actors performed three short plays: Anxiety is Orange, Container of Sharks and 10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse.

The first play of the series, titled Anxiety is Orange by Lindsay Price, was directed by Kasaan Kirby (II) and Ethan Mostoslavsky (II). The play reveals how stereotypes can lead to harmful assumptions, as each of the characters is judged by the color of their clothing. When asked about why he decided to direct the play, Kirby says, “I wanted to give directing a chance and […] help the seventh to ninth graders give their chance to shine through acting.”

Anxiety is Orange was followed by Don Zolidis’s Container of Sharks. The humorous performance was directed by Ash Albert (II) and Mizuki Takano-Cunningham (II) to parody an episode of the TV show Shark Tank. “[There] is an actual shark, and failure to please the […] investors could result in being eaten by him,” remarks Albert. As audience members laughed their way through each featured invention, it was clear it was a crowd favorite.

Mary Bosch (II) and Max Smith-Stern (II) directed the third play, 10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse, also written by Don Zolidis. The play has two narrators explain multiple comedic ways to survive a zombie apocalypse, ranging from reasoning with the zombies, to attacking them with guard dogs.

To prepare for their performance, members of BLS Theatre attended rehearsal after school twice a week in late September. The entire group, which included performers, tecnical crew and directors, all worked diligently to prepare for the show in just under two months. 

“Everyone involved […] put in tons of hard work, time and effort to ensure that we were ready to open. The three performances […] were super exciting and went great,” Albert comments.

Challenges persisted for in-person acting during the pandemic. Although the show was performed on stage, only students and staff were able to watch in the auditorium — parents and families had to watch online. With all the hard work and effort from the whole crew, the final production was a huge success. The One Acts were a fantastic way to kick off a school year full of live theatre performances, and Smith-Stern expresses, “I couldn’t have been happier with the show we put on.”