Sonoma Academy has had the tradition of putting on student-directed one-acts since before COVID. But what really goes into creating an entirely student-run production with no major assistance from adults?
One of Sonoma Academy’s most cherished traditions is the winter one-acts. Every year after the fall play, aspiring actors and directors put on their own plays or musicals. These are usually shorter in length, have a smaller cast, and, well, consist of one act. Students often take these performances to the Lenaea Theater Festival, while other productions are presented at school. To find out what really goes into making a student-directed and run one-act, I followed director/student Riley (‘27) one-act “A Summer in Ohio.”
The musical, based on the off-Broadway hit, “The Last Five Years,” focuses on a married couple, Jamie and Cathy, played by Jasper Mutz (‘28) and Pen Malone (‘26), as they think back to the start of the relationship to look at what led to the end of their marriage. Staged in the PAC’s dance studio February 17th, the show used musical numbers, lighting fixtures and time skips to tell the story of Jamie and Cathy’s relationship. The actors brought an amazing story to life with music and comedy, and it’s important to know how they got there.
To really understand this one-act, it’s important to know what went into creating an entire play with only Coyote Blocks, free periods and a whole lot of student effort. Students at Sonoma Academy are so lucky to be given time apart, like in Coyote Blocks, to be able to embrace their talents before sports and extracurriculars begin. Being in a one-act means having little to no adult support. Mussallam commented, “It’s a lot, but it’s so rewarding.”
Without an adult leading, the students had more responsibilities to take on. Mutz added, “With Riley, there’s a lot more freedom to try new things.” Musallam explained that each actor had to go to their own vocal coaches and prepare. Although it took more work outside of school, according to her, “Within the first week of rehearsal [Jasper] came back knowing all the songs.”
Flexibility sets one-acts apart from regular productions. According to Mutz, “[It] can make us really efficient, but it can also push back our schedule and mess with us a little bit.” In fact, Musallam had to push back the play one week after they fell behind during rehearsals, but that highlighted the beauty in having a small production: it was easy to make changes that wouldn’t have been likely in a bigger production. In Mutz’s words, “Any production has its ups and downs, but that’s how I think it should be.”
Actors are an important factor not just in performing, but also in creating a one-act. In “A Summer in Ohio,” Musallam created a very collaborative workspace. It wasn’t just one director ordering people around; each member of the production had things they wanted to add and discuss with one another. Musallam explained, “We were really open to hearing each other’s ideas.” The group, being close in age, was able to easily break down barriers and challenge each other’s process and decisions. Everyone was on a similar playing field and putting the same effort into it.
This was Musallam’s first time directing a one-act. According to her, she’s “passionate about theater and [has] always loved helping other people grow in that.” Musallam had already been a choreographer for dance, so she had had experience in being a leader before, but this was still a big step. For her, “there was no room to mess up,” and she was “feeling behind during the whole process.” Clearly, it was all in her head considering the performance was such a success. In only two months, these actors were able to put on an amazing play, with assistance from Dana Meyer (‘27) who controlled the lighting and Ruby Adams (‘28), who jumped out of lacrosse practice to be in one scene.
It’s also important to acknowledge that many schools don’t give students the opportunity to put on one-acts. In fact, SA is quite rare for having this. We are given the facilities to practice, the time to work and put on these productions and are also provided with guidance if needed.
This play is just one of many one-acts that will be put on throughout the spring. Make sure to catch:
“Crimes of the Heart” directed by Amelia Butkus (’27)
“21 Chump Street” directed by Viviana Cruz-Rodriguez (’26)
“The Shape of Things” directed by Jen Coté
