Theatre students headed to state
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Lafayette High School's theatre department is taking its one-act play to state.
The students will be performing "The 39 Steps." However, they have cut the play to one act to perform "The Even More Abridged Version" for a state one-act competition. The story is based on an Alfred Hitchcock film.
Director Sam Smith said cutting the show down to fit the competition was a challenge.
"There are a lot of moving pieces because you're trying to do something that is originally set to be about two hours long," Smith said. "So you're getting it down to about 35 minutes. So you have to be very inventive with how you're going to put all the scenes together."
The comedy show features a four-person cast as well as a backstage crew. One of the actors, Sloan Ridpath, said creating the show was a great experience.
"It's ironic because it's such a tiny cast and crew, but there's so much going on with it and it was really fun," Ridpath said. "This is one of the productions that I've been a part of where I can think of like hundreds of times where something really funny has happened on stage or backstage. It's just been a really fun production too."
Another actor, Sophia Mattson, said the state competition is a great way to end a high school theatre career.
"It's been a really good conclusion to, as being a senior, having been in theatre for four years, our last production is the one we get to take to state," Mattson said. "And it's just been really enjoyable because all of us are really good friends. We've had such a great time. So, it's a really nice way to close the book. A nice ending chapter."
Lighting crew member Mary Welchert said that the cast and crew continue to hone the show as they prepare for state.
"Gonna keep on perfecting little aspects of our play and we're just gonna keep on working as hard as we can to not only make it better but just have fun while we're doing it," Welchert said.
This is the first time since 2014 that Lafayette has qualified for state competition for a one-act show.
The one-act state competition will be held on April 23 and 24 in Springfield.
