Abbey Players: Three acts, three night … and countless hours of work

Steven Stanko, Crier Staff

In their 66th season, the Saint Anselm College Anselmian Abbey Players have successfully kept the legacy alive and then some. Musical or play, this group of young, talented students continues to hone the craft of storytelling and musical production. The most recent production, held this past weekend, is known as The One-Act Festival and features several short, one act plays combined into one show. The acts are all directed by students and really showcase the true talent that resides here at Saint A’s.

This year’s line of One-Acts included 3 different acts. The first one “Anatomy of Gray” takes place in a small Indiana town. The residents live normal, hard working lives until one day when Dr. Galen P. Gray crash lands his hot air balloon and changes everything for them. “Anatomy of Gray” by Jim Leonard was directed by freshman Michael Costa. The second act “The Can of Yams” by Jonathan Caws-Elwitt, details the life of painter Alan Plum and his struggles to complete his greatest artistic achievement before a stressful deadline set by a renowned gallery owner.  Junior Kyle Lefebvre and Freshman Kate Dugas co-directed this play. The third act “Daniels”, written and co-directed by sophomores Rebecca Hurd and Erin Schuster, follows the life of a depressed high school student named Kate. It takes the audience on a journey of friendship, love, sadness and the battles one faces when growing up and finding their true identity.

After viewing the One-Acts this Saturday night it was clear that weeks of work went writing, directing, and rehearing. When asked about the journey, freshman Zac Horton said, “The rehearsal process was fun, but it was a lot of work. It took a lot of nit picking and doing scenes over and over.”

One can only imagine the time it takes to successfully memorize pages of lines, choreographed movements, and in Zac’s case, several songs on the guitar. The whole production involved the efforts and time dedication of over 30 Anselmians but the result looked flawless on stage.

With the One-Acts being officially over as of Sunday night, Zac said he was feeling, “definitely sad to see the show end, but that’s normal. When you do a show you tend to fall in love with it and it’s always sad to see it end.”

The Abbey Player’s Festival of One-Acts captured the audience and led them through three different and unrelated, but fantastic stories. They masterfully dealt with comedy, regret, sadness, and love. It takes a skilled group of people to move an audience the way the Abbey Players can, and here at Saint Anselm College it is no lie to say that we are blessed to have such a hard working and dedicated group of people keeping the art of theatre alive.

The One-Acts alone prove that the Abbey Players are better than ever. While the One-Acts have come and gone, there will still be several chances to see the Players in action in this semester. Some other upcoming shows include “The Shakespearean Scenes,” and their highly anticipated spring musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Make sure to check out and support the Abbey Players at an upcoming show if you have yet to see their true genius in action.