On Friday, January 30, and Sunday, February 1, Sandburg students performed Winter One Acts shows at 7pm and 2pm, respectively. The shows were also performed throughout the day on Monday, February 2 for students and teachers who did not have the chance to see the shows over the weekend. 

The Winter One Acts are the winter theater activity here at Sandburg, and they are a series of mini-plays that are student written, directed, and performed, with social studies teacher Mr. McDonough as the director.

This year, the students performed nine plays, along with several “mini-acts” between the actual plays. Keira Borst and Noelle Gordon, two of the performers in the One Acts, said that the Winter One Acts are a “creative outlet for students.” 

The two shows started with the play, “A Dish Best Served Stolen,” which was written by students Addy Manning and Gaby Gomez. This initial play helped set the stage for the upcoming performances, like “Let’s Go Camping,” “What Could Go Wrong,” and the mini-acts like, “ASMR Monarchs” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

Mr. McDonough, the director of the One Acts, said, “I think it went very well,” and also said that “the shows offered a nice mix of comedic and dramatic stories, and all the students put in a lot of time and effort to ensure a successful production.”

Borst said that “It was fun, and we did good with the time we were given.”

Gordon agreed, stating, “It was overall a fun experience.”

Borst said that her favorite show was, “Yes, We’re Still Open,” but Mr. McDonough said that he didn’t have a favorite show, and included that he’s, “very proud of all the directors, the entire cast, and all the members of our stage and tech crews.” 

Furthermore, McDonough said that, “each cast member had multiple roles, and our directors came from every grade,” and provided background information about how in the past, only seniors were only able to direct and create new shows. He also added that with the larger cast pre-pandemic, every performer had only one role.

Mr. McDonough said their approach was similar to after the pandemic, and that participation in the show still isn’t what it used to be, which was another challenge they faced. “They put together a very impressive and challenging production with very limited stage time to rehearse,” said Mr. McDonough. 

Collectively, the Winter One Acts were a success among the cast, crew, and directors, as well as for Mr. McDonough, the teacher sponsor for the One Acts. Even amidst challenges, the entire team produced an engaging and enjoyable piece of art for the Sandburg community.