The Highland Fling -

Once again, the Highland Park Drama Club is hosting its annual one-act showcase, One Knight. This collection of plays is solely student-written, directed, and produced, some drawing inspiration from knights and epic quests. Each performance will run 10 minutes or less, spanning genres from comedy to drama to music. The staff involved with this year's productions include Kai Stevens (Director), Andrew Dalton (Technical Director), Samantha Milsted (Producer), and Talia Glueck (Stage Manager), all under the advisory of Tova Halpern.

The Drama Club’s most recent productions include Footloose, Puffs, Newsies, and Alice in Wonderland, all of which brought in high attendance and profits, deeming them successful. However, the one-act showcases typically involve few participants, work with a small budget, and yield a low attendance rate, so the HPHS administration has debated whether or not it should be canceled completely.

The entirely student-run production team was formed out of necessity, not just initiative. Senior and technical director Andrew Dalton says, “One-acts would have been taken off the roster of shows this year if it weren’t for me and Kai stepping up.” After all, the school and Drama Club were unable to find a professional director for the show, and without a school-approved supervisor, students could not utilize the HPHS auditorium to rehearse. Therefore, with the support of community organizer Ashton Burrell, One Knight has taken its student-led rehearsals and tech crew meetings to the Zone 6 Teen Center, where school-employed supervisors are not required.

While this year’s one-act showcase involves a greater degree of student responsibility, it also allows for a greater degree of creative freedom. Whether students’ passion lies in directing, acting, or designing, their synergy becomes apparent when watching the final production take shape. Senior Mac Jones claims that, “If you’re a director, or you’re writing a play, casting your own show and getting actors to do things, it’s just really great overall for growth and learning stuff from the people around you.”
Just this March, the Highland Park Drama Club presented Footloose, which brought in a profit of over $10,000, making it the highest-earning show to date. With these profits, One Knight has adopted similar advertising techniques to recent productions, including placing lawn signs and posters around town. The Club’s leadership team hopes that this strategy will replicate previous successes in attracting audience members, despite this year’s atypical production process.