On May 1st and 2nd, Morris Hills had the privilege of watching the scripts of two talented seniors come to life. “All in an Hour” by Danica Bascharow and Backstage by Taylor Hofbauer were the two one act productions directed and written by the aforementioned seniors.

“All in an Hour” is a humorous look at a group of “theatre kids” as they learn that the upcoming Spring Musical isn’t the production that they want. The drama of the students as they plan their resistance is perfectly contrasted by the level-headed teachers and stage manager discussing the current play over lunch.

The culmination of the resistance is when the kids, who had broken off into two factions in their debate of what to do, battle with prop swords over whether they should give a presentation to, or revolt against, the directors. The story ends comically, with the directors breaking up the “fight” and revealing the musical they announced was a joke all along, bringing the final battle to a sudden and jarring halt.

Backstage once again is a look into the lives of “theatre kids.” This production however covers a group of students who got kicked out of their theatre department due to a funny mishap that ended in the injury of one of their costars. Main character, Mara, tries to direct her own play starring her fellow shunned actors. It ends up going amusingly wrong though as her stars do anything but act out the Shakespeare they’re given.

The play teaches the important lesson that even if a production doesn’t turn out perfect, there’s always value in it. This moral rings true in everyone’s life as the play asks audiences to “…see the comedy in it all!”

Danica Bascharow and Taylor Hofbauer both worked incredibly hard to see their productions come to life. Despite both seniors admitting that the act of directing and playwriting was a tough balancing act where they had to realize that “not everything would go the way [we] had envisioned it,” (Bascharow) they still had to “secure their original visions” (Hofbauer). Both girls managed to strike the perfect balance however, as was clear by any person who sat in the audience.

Bascharow and Hofbauer were just as ecstatic as the audience to see their works come to life. With Bascharow calling the entire experience “really rewarding” and Hofbauer saying that “It felt like pure magic!”

These two seniors accomplished something incredible and anyone who watched their productions can agree that their work was unbelievably impressive, captivating audiences and cast alike.