Fossil Ridge High School’s drama department presented their Senior Directed One Acts in the Black Box on April 23-25th. One Acts are, as the name implies, one act plays that are student directed. This year, seniors Austin Feuer and Chris Goodwin directed Mirrors, by John O’Brien. Leah Baechle and Bailey Gannett directed Law and Order: Fairy Tale Unit, by Jonathan Rand, and Sofia Ashford is directed Smile, which she wrote herself.

Mirrors was the harrowing and thought provoking story of Fred Peterson, a husband and father to three children who each ask their father for advice which reveal interesting twists about  the personality of Fred Peterson. Fred Peterson, flawlessly portrayed by Garrett Olsen, drags the audience down into the inner realms of his mind. The Doctor, played by Sean Wilke-Braun, forces Peterson to come to terms with the dark reality of the world he lives in. The story leaves the audience torn, which reality does Fred actually live in? The high quality of the performer’s acting is what made Mirrors the tingling performance that it was. No flashy lights, sounds or costumes, just actors and the stage, a reminder of the theatrical potential that is found in every actor and actress.

Law and Order: Fairy Tale Unit, was the hilarious spoof of the crime TV show Law and Order. A crime swirls high in the air, someone has blown over the three little Piggies’ houses! Who did it? Detectives HD (Humpty Dumpty) and Cindy played by Tomas Muelling and Bailey Walder interview several suspects such as Pinocchio, played by Bruce Gammonley, and Jack and Jill, played by Peter Muelling and Anna Leonhardt, to unearth the clues at each scene.

The performance was one of the longer shows of the evening and appealed to younger audiences with its fantasy allusions and easy going humor. Each of the characters were dressed up for the part, Pinocchio had his nose, (and while it didn’t grow when he lied, it definitely gave him a migraine), Little Bo Peep had her braids and shepherd’s stick, and the Big Bad Wolf with  his facial hair. One of the most humorous aspects of this performance was the use of special effects throughout the show, when HD gave his confession, the lights dimmed, and the spotlight glued the audience to his emotional tale. The allusions to popular fairy tales is what gave the play humor and depth.

Smile, was undoubtedly the shining jewel of the entire One Acts performance. We met Baby Face Nelson, played by M Brown, a criminal who falls in love with the charming perfume counter girl, Helen, played by Libby Rose. As Nelson’s criminal activity gets him deeper into trouble, it jeopardizes not only the his gang but Helen’s life as well.  Teagan Brown’s performance rocked the house: the emotion that went into Nelson’s character, all the tears, frustration and passion, hit home for every person watching.

In Smile, the audience was treated to the nail biting performance enhanced by stage props and carried out by the actors. The characters in Smile used a car that would be pushed out from behind the curtain onto the stage. As they would transition into each scene, sometimes the car would have to be put back, resulting in the tumultuous process of shoving it back behind the curtain, and upon the first occasion this nearly resulted in pushing the curtain over. One  also could not  forget the literal bloody end for Nelson. Fake blood streamed across his chest as he slowly died upon the floor: the perfect end for a criminal, but a sad conclusion to the romance between Nelson and Helen.

If you have never been to one of the senior one acts at Fossil, put it on your high school bucket list and go see the plays next year. Most people only recognize the school play and musical, yet the smaller performances put on by the theatre department such as these one acts that make the drama department  truly special.