A Night at the Theatre

The audience sat rapt with attention as International Baccalaureate (IB) and advanced level theatre students directed and performed in ten short one-act plays at Mount Vernon High School on Wednesday night.

According to Beth De Marco, theatre arts teacher, IB students had a choice between taking a workshop, completing a playwriting project, or directing a one-act play. Although IB Theatre students produced the Night of Theatre over the past couple of years, it was only last year when De Marco incorporated her Theatre 2, 3, and 4 students into the project. 

“It’s a chance for them to showcase some directing skills,” said De Marco. This year, her advanced level theatre students and IB students were combined into one class period, which allowed them to work together effectively.

The students began working on their plays in January and pulled together strong productions in just a few short weeks. Some plays were dramatic, like The Little Room, directed by Delonna Dunbar, about a blind date gone awry. On the other hand, The Spotted Man, directed by Bryan Azucena and Jordan Parker, showed glimpses of humor in a patient dealing with an impatient, snobby physician’s assistant.

Some students had to make some last-minute changes in their productions. One group of students had to switch to a different play weeks before the show. Ghostbusters on Route 666, directed by students Hayley Mixon and Nick Skidmore, was pulled together in the last couple of weeks and went without a hitch.

“Some of them are pulling things off at the last minute,” said De Marco, just hours before the curtains went up. “They’re all good plays. ”