As the lights faded in and the curtains were drawn after a pre-show dessert feast, the auditorium filled with the largest crowd in four years to attend the annual Dessert Theater, a night of one act plays performed by members of the school drama program.

The first play, “The Thread men”, was performed by freshman K Smith and senior S Correal at the Jan. 9 show. The suspenseful act centered on a psychiatrist and a former patient trapped in an elevator 19 floors above the ground with no way out.

“I thought both of us did very well,” Smith said. “We prepared this piece for a month and a half before performing it at the Dessert Theater.”

The second play, “How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying”, was a student-directed play that featured students going through various school subjects and hardships, offering comedic and often impractical solutions to everyday high school problems.

The final play, “Her Senior Year”, is a dramatic play directed by Ms. Mullins to be performed at the VHSL One Acts competition. The play offered a real-life situation about a high school senior diagnosed with leukemia who eventually passes away.

“I think we performed very well,” said senior A Girardi. “We still have a few things we need to fix here and there, but I think we will do well in competition.”

After the shows, three critics – including social studies teacher Ms. Margaret Felts, theater teacher Mr. James Whiting, and Mrs. Sarah Storminger of Norfolk’s Little Theater – pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of each performance.

“Each show had something unique,” Smith said. “Either it was suspenseful, or funny, or it made you want to cry.”

“The performances went well,” said Ms. Erin Mullins. “There are always a few bumps in the road, but overall I am proud of what our students and our first-time student directors accomplished.”