On Thursday, January 22nd, the One Act group went to Mitchell to perform their play called And. This play is about how everyone has life problems going on at the same time that we might not know about. The main problem in this play is about a young girl who was assaulted.

Mrs. Knodel, the drama teacher, directed this amazing play. The main character, Aaron, a girl who is struggling with the fact that her sister was assaulted right under her nose, is played by Abby Gretschmann. The play And placed second at regionals in Mitchell.

Actors who received recognition at this play were Jake Namminga, Lexi Vanderlei, Abby Gretchman, Kate Swier, Anna Lupi, and Ella Hamilton; all earned themselves a superior actor award for their outstanding performance. I spoke with a few of the actors who received recognition, in order to better understand their history with the AHS drama program.

Jake Namminga, the only male actor to receive a superior, has been involved with One Act for 3 years because he enjoys getting to be someone new and acting. Jake's proudest accomplishment is getting an individual award 2 years in a row. In And, Jake played Nate, who gets rejected from all the schools he applied to.

Abby Gretschmann has been in One Act for all 4 years of high school. She enjoys One Act because she has always been interested in the Arts department. Being involved in this program provides public speaking experience, which looks good for college applications. Abby’s proudest accomplishment is making it to state three years in a row, as well as getting 2 superior acts and 1 superior ensemble. Abby played the main character in And, Aaron, who narrates the inner conflict while trying to explain hers.

Anna Lupi has only been one act for 1 year. She decided to join this year because she thought it would be fun and wanted to experience new things in life. Her proudest accomplishment was just joining One Act and earning a superior actor. Anna's character in And is Lesley. This character played a girl who cares deeply about global warming and what is going on in the world.

Ella Hamilton has been in One Act for 1 year and decided to join this year because Mrs Knodel asked her, and it was her senior year, so she figured she might as well. Ella's best accomplishment was getting a superior after only acting for 1 year. Her character’s name was Kate, and in the play, her character was debating breaking up with her boyfriend because he makes funny noises when she kisses. The play And will now go to state at Brandon Valley on Friday, February 6th to perform. Good luck actors!