On October 26th, the Acting Troupe of Lambert (ATL) placed second in the regional Georgia High School Association (GHSA) one-act play competition, bringing months of preparation to a memorable performance. Their play, “The Fantasticks,” was a musical that the ATL adapted for the one-act play format. Whereas a traditional theatrical performance features two distinct acts, usually with an intermission in between, a one-act play features one continuous performance with no breaks.
To adapt to this format and adhere to the competition’s 55-minute performance limit, the ATL modified “The Fantasticks” by cutting out certain scenes and shortening the performance to focus on important scenes.
“There’s a time penalty for going over,” ATL state representative and Lambert junior Roger Wang explains. “So we take the show, and we just cut out the unnecessary stuff to get it under time.”
But preparing for the one-act play competition took more than just shortening a play and memorizing lines. There’s a set time for everything from setting up set pieces and preparing technical components before the actual performance. Every school at the competition received a set time limit and had to put on their entire performance within these constraints. As such, ATL members have been hard at work for the last three months ensuring that every detail in their show was perfected for competition.
As for the rest of the school year, the ATL hopes to bring their momentum from “The Fantasticks” to other performances. Immediately after the one-act play competition, they began working on their Christmas show, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“That’s our Christmas-themed show, and it’s a radio play so there’ll be microphones broadcasting the whole thing,” Roger added. “It’s good since people’s relatives who can’t attend in-person will still be able to get the full experience.”
Then, the advanced musical theatre class will hold a theatrical showcase of different scenes and performances across plays in a compilation format. As for competing, the ATL plans to compete in further competitions with a production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” The production will be centered around a muder-mystery and involve a choose-your-own-ending style performance.
Once again, the ATL has shown the sheer creativity and passion of Longhorns. Through months of dedication and commitment, they were able to place second in their GHSA region, and they’re just getting started. Throughout the year, keep an eye out for the ATL’s variety of innovative shows.
