On September 20, 2011, Jesuit thespians and other young actors from a multitude of schools in Dallas including Booker T. Washington High School, Ursuline Academy, and Hockaday, congregated in the Lecture Hall for the chance of being cast in one of the nine Winter One-Act plays.
Each student trying out was given one minute to do just about whatever they wanted to do to impress the board of judges. The performances ranged from “cold readings” (simply reading a passage in an intriguing way) to the ridiculous, such as when Nick Thompson ’12, and Ursuline junior Becca Byrne sat down on the performance stage together and then proceeded to squirt shaving cream all over their legs and then shave them.
Some of the more intellectual auditions included a reading from Shakespeare, performed by Shane McGoldrick ’13. Other performances included a Harry Potter related skit by Ryan Diller ’13, and Ryan Adams ’13, a reading of a craigslist dating ad, and recollections of humorous past experiences, such as Tim Nguyen ’12 sharing a story of the time he tried to buy $35 dollar shoes from an old man in China.
Most students, however, created short comedies or monologues beforehand to perform either individually or with the help of several of their peers. The judges released no specific rubric to determine who would be cast in the plays. However, they were looking for projection of strong vocal skills, relaxation on stage, clear acting abilities, and valid displays of emotion. The selections for these short plays were highly competitive and by the time all 50 or so auditions had been completed, the cast list was filled with an incredibly talented array of students.
By all accounts, Jesuit is in store for an entertaining One Acts lineup this winter.
Chief Stage Manager for all Productions – Patrick McNearney
Faculty Advisers – Mr. Myers, Ms. Watson, Ms. Knapek
An Actor’s Nightmare
Directors: Connor Beach and Omeed Azmoudeh
George – Basil Seif
Meg – Kristen Crock
Ellen – Maddy Maxwell
Sarah – Gabby Stuart
Henry – Joey Kishpaugh
Understudy – Angelo Winnings
Self Defense Against Fresh Fruit Cast:
Directors: Colin Taylor, Jack Blais, Mark Diaz-Arrastia
Sergeant: Harrison Ainsworth
Idle: Eric Nunez Lafontaine
Chapman: Grace Cunningham
Jones: Ryan Diller
Palin: Emilio Lopez
The tiger/16 ton weight: Matthew Bedard
The Philadelphia
Directors: Forrest Smith and Garrett King
Al – Alex Curry
Waitress – Rose Mannas
Mark – John Jackson
Understudy – Conar Ehring
A Play on Words
Directors: Jack Greenwood and Matt Williams
Paul – Alex Petsos
Tracy – Celeste Galey
Waiter – Joe Nathan Lacy
Understudy – David Alvarado
Untitled #2
Directors: Ben Cordell and Noah Barron
Mary Ehrlicher
Jeff Bartlett
Sabrina Miranda
Understudy – Caleb Kilpatrick
Time Flies
Directors: Dylan Stone and Frankie Guidone
Horace – Colin Traver
May – McKenna Weirmann
David Attenborough – Michael Caballero
A Frog – Chandler Park
Waiting for Godot
Directors: Jacob Khoury and David Smith
Laura Ross as Pozzo
Griffin Miller as Lucky
Elijah Taylor as Vladmir
Brian Eisele as Estragon
John Michael Lucido is the understudy.
Sure Thing
Director: Mr. Howard
Shane McGoldrick
Katie Frisbee
Understudy: James Hynes
Blue Moon Over Memphis
Director: Ms. Knapek
Judy: Natalia Gonzales
The Man: Alex Venegas
Oscar: Ryan Adams
Elvis: Thomas Spottiswood
Konken: Chuck Smith
Japanese Chorus:
Maddie Mount
Macy Hernandez
Becca Byrne
Hannah Miller
Antonio Gonzalez
James Smith
Brandon Rodenroth
Francis Hipolito
Collin Moore
