Fall activities for high school students keep them very busy. Football and marching band take hours of practice and preparation. But inside the school, a little more under the radar, are high school drama departments all over the country practicing hard and long to prepare for the yearly one act competitions.

Norcross High School’s theatre department, under the direction of Gina Parrish, has made it to the state level in One Act for the last three years. The sub-region competition was held at Norcross on Oct 22nd. From there, winning schools in this division go to the region competition held at the Gwinnett Civic Center and then winners move on to the state level. 

Parrish explains that  “All of the schools in this region are very supportive of each other.” They enjoy watching all of the plays and encourage the other schools as they move on. Of course, there is a healthy sense of competition as well. 

This year Norcross is performing Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. Written in 1978, this “tragic comedy” shows three sisters who overcome one crisis after another and keep you laughing all along the way. 

Since the full length play can’t be performed in the alloted 55 minutes that each school has to set up the stage, present the play and then completely clear the stage, cuts to the script are a must. Sometimes a director can buy an already cut version of a play but they usually, as in Parrish’s case, choose the less expensive option of making their own cuts.

I enjoyed attending the play at Norcross. It was presented to the public on October 18 and 19. There’s no better way to help get the kinks out, than to perform for a live audience. 

You could tell that the students had put lots of time into this play. And what’s not to like? As it said on the program, “Three sisters, a gun, lemonade, and some cake...Don’t you just love family reunions?”

The cast of students in order of appearance are: Eh-den Perlove (Chick), Katie Reilley (Lenny), Kessler Catterall (Meg), Ella Presley (Babe), Marco Sanchez (Barnette) and David Beach (Doc). 

The set was exceptional with good attention to detail. I’m sure that it will be a huge job to move the set onto and off of the stage very quickly, but judging from last weeks' performances, the students are up to the task.

Best wishes and much success to the Norcross Players as they go to the upcoming One Act Competition.