Journey begins with a little food

Part one of a series leading up to the UIL competition.

Kendra Perry, Special Contributor

The theater competition season has just begun and there is adrenaline coursing through every company member’s veins. The play, The Runner Stumbles, has been selected, read through a few times and now there are positions assigned to every role and responsibility.

Now, some may expect that the next step is to jump in and get lines memorized and continue on. And even though that is important, that is not true. An essential part of building a successful company, the team of actors, alternates, techies and director, is harmony. New teacher Abbey  Fera requires every UIL One Act Play to start with a company dinner to assemble an excited, unified group reaching for a common goal.

“It is a time to bond with your company mates,” said sophomore Sarah Sloan, who is the play’s prop master.

This year, the dinner took place at Sloan’s house on January 13th. It is customary for everyone to contribute to the potluck dinner. As a result, the group of hungry teenagers devoured a whole ham, 14 pounds of hamburgers, 84 Olive Garden breadsticks, a vast array of sweet desserts and much more.

“The funniest thing that happened in that company dinner was the fact that people brought food for 20-23 people,” junior stage manager Morgan Phillips said. “So, we had a combined total for about the whole country of South Africa.”

But once everyone stuffed their faces full of multiple plates of food, that is when the real work began.

“We read the script, we give out stuff, we assign numbers, just kinda all the tedious work that has to be done,” Mrs. Fera said, “It’s a lot of boring, dry stuff, so you add food and it makes everything great and wonderful.”

UIL One Act Play works to bring together a team of passionate high schoolers for an equivalent of the Texans going to the Super Bowl.

“I think UIL forces us to choose challenging pieces and to stretch, not just myself, but you guys as well,” Fera said, “I think it forces you to say, ‘Hey, this is a competition,’ so you really need to up your game.”