The One Act team has not had it easy this year. In the months leading up to the biggest moment of the season, the team has worked through immense amounts of confusion and change. Now, they finish up in Norfolk, where they stood in the sizable Johnny Carson Theatre for the moment of truth: State One Act.
At Districts, GHS ended up in second place, tying in points with Lincoln East High School. Getting second place was not a bad thing for the team. It only pushed them to work harder and persevere. Senior Mason Skoumal said he saw being the runner-up as something to motivate him more.
“I think that because we got second place at Districts, everyone kind of had a fire lit under them,” Skoumal said. ”We pushed a lot harder than we would on a normal season to get first place.”
Surrounded by all the teams who won at Districts, the best of the best, the cast knew that this would simply have to be the best performance of the season. For some of the actors, such as senior Mia Cacioppo, this was their fourth and final year going to State.
“We never know how State is going to go,” Cacioppo said. “ The only thing we can do as actors and performers is to go out on stage, give it our all, have fun and hope for the best.”
In addition to the hard work of the actors, there are many other people who helped to make the show what it is. Behind the scenes, there are lights, sound, and set– all the people who add color and depth to the show and bring it all to life. Without them, the show would not be possible. Senior Abby Turpen enjoyed creating sets and playing a part in the show behind the scenes.
“We build, make the show look pretty, make everything run smoothly, and just about anything else that needs to be done,” Turpen said, “I love getting to paint sets and getting to spend time with people I wouldn’t usually.”
Sitting in the Johnny Carson Theatre before the performance, watching the crew and cast members set up the stage, it becomes apparent that huge amounts of hard work, dedication, and time was put into the performance. One Act participants gave up countless days and nights to perfect the show
The collaboration and trust between the cast and crew was vital for the success of the show. For sophomore Andrew Jones each and every person who was a part of the team matters. If one person is off, it can affect everything.
“We have to trust each other onstage to make sure everything goes right because without trust the show is held back,” Jones said. “I feel Gretna does this very well, as there are usually very few problems on stage.”
For any team, putting a great deal of effort into something and not winning, stings. But for GHS, under the new leadership of Ms. Brooke Berube, the legacy of impressive acting and performance, continues. After Gretna took second place, the team found out about its tie with Malcolm High. Malcolm and Gretna had the different amount of points but the same ranking. Even with the tie, places overrode points, and the judges chose the winner, Malcolm.
“As for the tie,” senior Cora Rogers said, “I would like to say how proud I am of our team, considering our start to the season, and even though we placed runner-up, we still showed them nothing can break Gretna.”