Lisbon High School will be performing multiple one-act plays as their shows this fall, with two different shows offered. Writer’s Bloc will be the featured show Thursday, Nov. 7, Saturday, Nov. 9, Thursday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 16.

We’re All Chickens will be performed Friday, Nov. 8, Sunday, Nov. 10, Friday, Nov. 15, and Sunday, Nov. 17.

Director Grant Freeman said there could be some shows impacted as the Lisbon football team advances in the postseason.

If the Lions advance, the shows that conflict with those games will be canceled.

Sundays will be a 2 p.m. matinee, with all other showtimes being 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for each show at the door. Director Grant Freeman said this fall’s show had to happen because the auditorium is currently a shared space for Amanda Zenisek’s business classes this fall while construction is completed on the new career and technical education wing of the Lisbon Schools.

“We had a different show we were looking to do, but with the classroom needs of the auditorium, we wouldn’t be able to construct the set that show would require,” Freeman said. “At that point, my goal was to present a show without royalties to get my students acting opportunities in front of an audience and utilize minimal staging.”

Freeman has taken several one-act plays he has previously written, as well as a few from Devon Crawford and Amy White, to present as the show.The pivot to one act and multiple casts has given an opportunity for football and volleyball players to participate in the show.

“When I had more than 16 students audition, I knew I had to make things work for the cast,” Freeman said. “I have several actors who haven’t acted on stage before, or maybe just been behind the scenes. I want them to have the opportunity to be part of the plays.”

Freeman said he has loved watching many of his students have the opportunity to get out and act on stage.

“I love watching many of these students also get out of the boxes they construct of ‘I am known for these things,’” Freeman said. “These plays do give them opportunities to do a lot of different things.”

Freeman is the first to admit that there are some similarities in the one-act shows he has written and collected for this showcase.

“Several of them have been performed for speech contests in the past, and they work extremely well for the 15 to 20 minutes students perform them there,” Freeman said. “When multiple are collected together, though, you start to see more writing formula and they’re all variations of the same type of play.”

He also notes it’s hard to both write and direct your own plays.

Actress Payton Curtis said what she has loved most about the multiple parts and roles she plays in the one-act shows has been meeting the other cast members she works alongside.

“This has also been an opportunity for me to play multiple different characters in one show,” Curtis said. Playing multiple characters has also been one of her minor challenges, especially remembering characters between the different one-act shows she is part of.

“People should come see this show because it’s funny and we’ve worked hard as casts on these productions,” Curtis said. “It is definitely not like other shows we’ve done before, and you have multiple chances to see the shows.”

Freshman Gracie Cummings has loved the opportunity to play multiple parts in the show as well.

“I’ve probably learned the most from this theater opportunity, as I’ve been able to play multiple roles,” Cummings said. “It’s one of my first experiences being the lead of a show as well.”

Lines—especially for being a lead— are one of the minor challenges for Cummings. And some blocking as the cast is working to figure out staging.

“There are a whole bunch of new actors in these shows, and it would be great to see our community coming out to support us in these shows,” Cummings said. “It’s just a fun, silly group of shows,” Freeman said. “And we could all use that in the month of November when our country is tense in more ways than one. High school is community theater done with high schoolers as a cast, and they still need the support of their community. There’s also several opportunities to catch multiple different shows and casts.”

Writer’s Bloc and Other Plays
Cast List:
Joey Watson
Caroline Morris
Gavin Lord
Aubrey Ford
Jacob Montgomery
Lucas Curtis
Kaitlyn Silver
Gracie Cummings

We’re All Chickens and Other Plays By Grant Freeman
Cast List:
Gracie Cummings
Peyton Appel
Payton Curtis
Riley Clark
Hermione Chalupa
Alyssa Hrabak
Kendall Hartelt