Each year students have the opportunity to participate in their school’s One-Act play and compete in the VHSL One-Act Play Festival.
Last year, we won States with our satirical adaptation of the 20-minute Zoom musical “Unmuted” by Alvaro Saar Rios and Deborah Wicks La Puma. This year’s play, performing first for Sectionals on January 27th, 2024, is taking a completely different approach: a play without lines.
“Compared to other productions, this show invites a much more collaborative process where cast, director, and designer roles overlap a bit,” said director Christa Vogt.
The cast of “Emotional Baggage” is made up of two groups of performers: actors and musicians working together to make the characters come to life.
“People should know that the lack of dialogue enhances the play more than it impairs it, because dialogue would probably take away from the story,” said actor senior Caroline Orr.
Since there aren’t lines, the performers act fully with movement, both scripted and devised.
“It’s different in the fact that it’s simply movement-based. The process feels much faster than that of other productions, where it can feel like it takes a minute to really get going,” said actor senior Phaedra Diacopoulos.
While the actors rely on using gestures and exaggerated physicality, the musicians play short pieces they’ve designed to correspond to the characters and world of “Emotional Baggage.”
“It’s a new type of challenge…the last four years of one-acts, starting with 2020, have been out-of-the-box pieces. So much of both acting and music is based on the thought of ‘What feelings does this evoke from the audience/listeners?’” said musician senior Caleigh Howell. “Creation involves feeling, color, texture, and imagination above all else. Our ensemble acts in character 100% of the time, while also playing pieces in response to the movement and storyline happening on stage.”
“Emotional Baggage” explores what people refuse to let go of and how it can inhibit growth.
“The play encourages self-reflection and raises the question, ‘Why do we insist on holding on to unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that get in the way of our well-being?’” said Vogt. “’Emotional Baggage’ reveals the danger of the ‘complain train’, which is the concept that misery loves company. If that ‘company’ is kept, letting go and experiencing personal growth or happiness is impossible.”
While the play has deeper themes, it hasn’t stopped the cast and crew from enjoying the rehearsal process.
“It’s like watching a silent cartoon that has music communicating the actions and expressions, except we’re the ones making the sounds. It’s easy to laugh with that group, it’s our favorite part collectively. I look forward to diving into those fun ‘musical response’ composition parts even more after we finish the themes,” said Howell.
The fun that the One-Act team has had has only fueled their excitement and optimism for the festival in January.
“My hopes are that we create and deliver a clear, cohesive, and unique piece of theatre, and that the team learns from each other and grows together throughout the process and performance,” said Vogt. “And while, yes, the VHSL One-Act is for a competition, I don’t put focus on “winning” or “beating other schools” because that is not what theatre is about. Of course, trophies are nice. But theatre is about being in a community and telling stories. And when we succeed at that, and then give the best possible performance the team can give, that is a win more valuable than any hardware.”
Through design and characterization, “Emotional Baggage” has proved it’s possible to tell a story without speaking at all.
“There is something in each character for everyone, and despite is not having words, it doesn’t need any,” said Diacopoulos.
