It’s that time of year again: Backlight’s fifteenth studentdirected One Acts, and this year they have taken a turn. Usually most of the One Acts are comedies, but this year they take on a lot of serious topics like suicide. They will be on February 23rd and 24th; hope to see you there.

Drugs Are Bad, directed by Kyle Greenberg (12), is about Bella, a high school student, whose parents promote bad things like drugs and sex. Bella, however, is secretly a nerd. It is stage managed by Emily Lightman (12) and she has “learned it is sometimes hard not to show your opinions, but it is also very rewarding to see another person’s perspective as well as be part of the directing process, because that is not something that I’m accustomed to.”  Bella Pineda (9), who plays Bella, said, “My character is this punk rocker kid but secretly she is very preppy and kind of a geek.” James Altschul (9) plays Dad, who “instead of being a ‘good’ dad he wants his kid to go do drugs and have sex.” Sydney Pan (11) plays Mom and is “kinda quirky and a little bit of a rebel and tries to teach her daughter… not good things.” Pineda explains that her play “has a unique set of characters that are not what you think they are.”

Blu is directed by Noah Hewett (12) and is about “a 8th grade boy named Blu, and he is an autistic kid and he is very expressive of himself and he gets some backlash at school.” It is stage managed by Kieren Bell (9) “I’ve learned all out about stage managing including how to take notes, block and many more things.” Emily Moisant (11) plays Morgan who is “a friend of Blu’s brother.”Lee Judilla (10) plays Justin who is a “sarcastic and cynical, and the entire situation with his brother’s friend, and sometimes he says things he does not mean, and he really does care about his friends well being.” Joey Schmeltzer (11) plays a parent. “Their son has just committed suicide. They only make a brief appearance, but I think that it is a pretty powerful moment.” Calvin Park (12) plays Blu, Kiona Castro (9) plays Dee, and Ethan Gerken (9) plays Scott. Moisant explains the play it “is unique because it talks about a subject that is not [often discussed with] students.”

Frosh In The Pit is directed by Abbey Helfand (11) and is “A contemporary high school drama that leaves audiences dumbfounded when they witness the true colors of a group of teenagers against a girl who is sitting in their area of the school during lunch.” It is stage managed by Eli Wolfson (11). Hope Hoffman (9) plays Carmen who is “the voice of the school.” Sari Gluck (9) plays Sarah “a bully she is very mean to Celia for no reason.” Erica Floss-Becker (10) plays Heather who does not realize that she is a bully” Ethan Schuster (11) plays Jake who is,“a bully who is unaware of his actions, he does not know how his actions affect other people.” Spencer Lane (9) plays Travis who is  “not very smart and he is a bully and he is sort of a back up bully, he does not do all the messing around but he has to to get his point across.”Jackie Zurow (11) plays Celia,“She is kind of shy, but she also stands up for what she believes in because she sits in the pit. I feel that if she was not surrounded by all these tough seniors, then she would’ve spoken her mind.”

Two Eggs is directed by Jenna Repkin (12) and is about, “a guy who is doing a simple thing, he is just going to his neighbor’s house to collect two eggs to bake a cake, but he has multiple personality disorder in this one act. He is portrayed by four actors showing each of physical personalities.” It is stage managed by Adam Hamer (12). Hannah Shanes (12) plays Jane who is, “a single woman who is living alone.” Max Rattner (11) plays Kiss-Ass Skip who, “want’s to make everyone love him.” Spencer Moffat (12) plays “the depressed version of Skip, and during the show we fight for control over who is conscious and who is there.” Abhay Ram (12) plays Barry White Skip who is, “the smooth kind of Skip that swoops in and that eventually woos the girl that all the Skips were trying to be with.” This show also features Joey Acopiado (11) as Caveman Skip.

Houdini Will Die,  directed by Maddie Fernandez (11), is about “a man who starts to see his wife come back,” She said. “It’s about living life and learning to live life for what it is and having time to enjoy other people.” It is stage managed by Sofie Schmeltzer (9). She said, “I’ve learned how to talk to actors more because sometimes it can be a little difficult, and I’m better at taking notes on things like scripts.” Nic Dantes (10) plays David, who is “a scientist and is very dedicated to his work and is devoted to his scientific discoveries.” Lila Prochotsky (9) plays Terry, who is “is an intern in her 20’s, she is very excited, and very peppy.” Lauren Glenn (11) plays Helen, who is David’s wife, and she is very worried about his focus because he is really preoccupied and concerned about work and making advances. She tells him to enjoy the moment and is a very authoritative character.” Glen says her play as a  “big commentary on the idea of how to live life, and if you are living are you surviving  and witch one is really important in life it’s these combatting phosphides about what success, Helen sees success as of happiness knowing yourself, smelling the  flowers.”