On April 24 to April 30, 2026, Sierra Vista High School’s tech week began in preparation for the annual One Acts event. Students collaborated to set up the lighting, sound, set, costume, and makeup effects needed for the One Acts. After a week’s worth of preparation, rehearsals, and performances, the One Acts event occurred on April 30, 2026, where students got the chance to act out their peers’ directed scenes.
The acts for this year’s One Acts were Fast Food, directed by Rebekah Whittenberger; 13 Ways to Screw Up a College Interview, directed by Zaire Bryant (12); Six, directed by Hollee Harveston (9) and Amelia Mack (9), and It’s Not You, It’s Me, directed by Aaralyn (River) Rieger (10).
When asked how long the student directors have been working on their scenes, Whittenberger explained that, “they have been working on their one-act plays since we returned from Spring Break. It is a 4th Quarter project that they rehearse in class.”
On April 30th, it was show day. Before every big show actors and techies gather in a circle to do 8-count shake-outs (counting 1-8 while shaking your left hand, right hand, left foot, then right foot), energy passing (actors hold hands, and one actor starts the game by squeezing the person to their right’s hand and they then “Pass the energy” to the next actor until the starting actor feels a squeeze on their left hand). The warm-up ended with tongue twisters so actors can perform with perfect pronunciation. Techies then went to prepare props for the beginning of the show.
At 6:00 p.m., audience members began to flood the auditorium. At around 6:30 p.m., it started, the flashing of show lights, the preshow announcement reminding viewers to silence their devices. Whittenberger walked on stage and told the audience that the first act they were witnessing was directed by her and that the other acts had been directed by students.
Fast food opened with a comedic scene in which a girl played by Diane DeBonis (9) walked into a restaurant asking for a job, but was repeatedly asked, “Do you want fries with that?” Another crowd favorite included a guy in a chicken costume named Captain Cluck, played by Logan Sarver (11), on his lunch break, but was interrupted by customers demanding he “do the dance.” One of the night’s funniest scenes in this act was the “Grubdash” granny, played by VyVyanna Zubia-Santos, in a slow-motion fight, after another customer, played by Abigail Gamboa, attempted to steal her food.
The energy of the night continued as Director Bryant took the stage, mentioning how great an experience this and previous productions have been. 13 Ways to Screw Up a College Interview, starring Gabriel Longoria (12) and Jaxson Peterson (11) as interviewers 1 and 2, followed the pair as they dealt with a series of weird applicants. Throughout the act, the interviewers encountered a magician, a vampire enthusiast, a reality TV star, a demanding applicant determined to get accepted, and an almost accepted girl, played by Andrea Gutierrez-Ramos, who chooses to go to an Ivy League mid-interview after getting a call from her mother. The performance ended with the interviewers choosing the magician, played by Merrick De Jesus. The fast-paced jokes and exaggerated characters kept the audience laughing throughout the entire performance.
Six was a song and dance performed by Aaris Oliver (9), Jillian Oeike (9), Maizey Thompson (9), Malaiya James (9), Amelia Mack (9), and Hollee Harveston (9). The performance told the story of the six wives of Henry VIII, and how they either died, were killed, or survived. The performance included colorful flashing lights and “campy” upbeat music that beautifully contrasted the darker historical themes of betrayal.
Before the final act, It’s Not You, It’s Me, Director Rieger stepped onto stage explaining to the audience that her production is about breakups and the all too well-known phrase, “it’s not you, it’s me.” One memorable scene featured an undercover spy, played by Andre Sanchez, attempting to destroy all evidence of his relationship with his ex, played by Julia Nguyen, before dramatically getting “shot.” Another comedic moment involved a couple, played by Xavier Briggs (11) and Trinity Turner (12), arguing over who was more responsible for their breakup, which resulted in them repeatedly splashing each other with water. In the final moments of the show, the man in the last scene walked over to another recently dumped woman and said, if we ever break up, just promise to tell me that I’m the problem.
After curtains and bows, Whittenberger told the audience to vote for the best act, and after a cast drumroll, the act, 13 Ways to Screw Up a College Interview, won, and the actors and director received an award for their performance.
Seniors involved in this production and the previous Broadway production, Hairspray, when asked how they feel about this being their last high school production before graduation,
replied,
“I’m happy I could get to do it.”-Ryan Ingram (Hairspray’s Seaweed)
“I’ve been doing this for four years,” and “I had a great final role, Edna was amazing. I’m proud to have that character to end off on.” -Gabriel Longoria (Hairspray’s Edna)
“I’m really happy I could reconnect with a lot of my favorite theater friends one last big time to make something fun!” -Kaz Castaneda (Hairspray’s Mr. Pinky)
After every good performance, there’s always a mess in the green room (the room where actors eat and relax before going on stage) and dressing rooms. This was especially true with the approximate 60 students involved in the production. So after all the fun, actors and techies alike all come together to clean before going home after a long, successful night.
Students interested in the theater department’s next production can check SVHS’s daily news, the department’s Instagram page, or the school website for updates.
