Hallettsville’s One Act Play Company competed at their district competition last weekend at Rice CISD. After a performance that the whole company agreed was their best run yet, they placed fifth overall.
“I feel like it could’ve been better, but we did the best we could with what we had,” Karlyanne Lowery, senior and the stage manager, said.
At their district competition, the Hallettsville OAP performed Tracks, by Peter Tarsi. The play takes place in a subway station, where a group of strangers come to realize they are dead and that the oncoming train will lead them to either Heaven or Hell. The group is forced to reconsider their lives, weighing their good and bad deeds in a desperate attempt to determine their fate.
“I liked seeing the relationships between characters and watching them change throughout the story,” Brayden Miranda, junior, said.
Four of the company’s members were awarded for their skills after competing at the district competition. Brayden Miranda was awarded All-Star Technician, Waylon Clanton and Madison Gallia were both awarded Honor Roll Mention All-Star Cast, and Averie Herring was awarded All-Star Cast.
“Winning an award was very validating to know I did well,” said Gallia.
Although the one-act play had a good season this year, each member felt the instability of their work. For the past two years, the future of the Hallettsville OAP has been rocky.
“I used to to enjoy OAP and look forward to going to class every day, but lately I’ve lost all my passion for it,” said Lowery.
The cause of this instability could mainly be attributed to the departure of Kristen Freytag, the program’s director for over five years. Freytag always kept the program moving smoothly, and her experience helped to truly bring out the best in every student. After Freytag left, the program has seen some rough days.
“OAP with Freytag was great, I really miss it. I was only here for one play and then hung out for the senior play, but it was really fun. You could tell people were engaged and wanted to be there,” Talan Coy, a senior, said.
Sadly, after the loss of their director, the OAP company had nobody who was eager to step up to become the new director; Danielle Buehring, the Spanish two and three teachers, found herself put in the position of director for the 2023-2024 season.
“I wanted to help students who weren’t in sports and cheerleading. My goal was to continue a program to keep kids even if they aren’t in other organizations,” Buehring said.
Buehring took over the program, keeping it going by a thread. Although everyone is grateful for a chance to continue doing what they love, this was Buehring’s first year as director, and naturally, that led to a few bumps in the road. During this time, many people felt the instability of their work, but overall most members of the company agreed they had fun.
“With Buehring, it was fun, messy, but fun,” senior Maddison Gallia said.
The 2023-2024 season came and went; it was a relatively fun season despite a few ups and downs. As the year passed and the summer came, Buehring stepped down from the role. One Act Play was then taken up by Christi Opiela, the academic director and teacher for journalism classes.
“I picked up the program because as the academic coordinator, I didn’t want to see the program die,” Opiela said.
Opiela started this year hoping to bring One Act Play to new heights, but it’s not easy to tie together a class that’s hanging on by a thread.
“The class is in a horrible spot right now to the point where it doesn’t feel like OAP at all and it makes me sick. It used to feel like an actual class and now it feels like a discount study hall,” senior Gage Cormier said.
Even through all the work, it was clear the program was struggling more and more. It’s difficult to reach your full potential when everything is constantly changing.
“I feel like the program needs to exist. It’s a good place for kids who don’t like sports. The program was a mental lifesaver for me last year, so I really need it,” Teryn Rother, a sophomore in One Act Play said.
Over the years, One Act Play has been fighting a battle they may not be able to win. As of now, it is unlikely the OAP program will continue. With budget cuts to the school and a decreasing number of people joining the class, it most likely won’t have a future. For the students in the class, that is heartbreaking news as the class has provided a safe space away from the stress of classes and tests for many people.
