The tragic collection of vignettes, “Remedies for a Broken Heart”, will kick off its two night run at the Cal High theater on Thursday.
The curtain rises for both shows of the award-winning one act play at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. The show, which also includes monologues, other scenes and musical theater, closes on Friday.
Written by senior Bella Kelleter, who was just honored for their direction and script, the vignettes are snapshots into different character’s lives with underlying themes of heartbreak, hope and despair.
“It follows the story of different types of relationships and people,” Kelleter said.
The play production class, which performed the one act play at the Lenaea High School Theater Festival on Saturday, has been practicing and rehearsing for the festival and this week’s shows since November.
For the Lenaea Festival, the play production class traveled to Folsom Lake College to perform the one act play, in addition to monologues and other shorter scenes. Students competed against 73 other schools by performing in front of a panel of judges and received feedback for their performance.
The cast and crew earned bronze for their performance of “Remedies for a Broken Heart” at the festival. Kelleter also earned bronze for student direction and original one act scripts.
Other students who earned individual awards include senior Nadia Rouillard, silver monologue and bronze with senior Sophia Donahue for duo scene and the respondent’s choice award; senior Tyler Hurley and Shea Daly, bronze duo scene; senior Noah Shallcross, bronze set design; and senior Maverick Smith, silver original one act scripts.
“Being able to show off something and get genuine critique and genuine knowledge from people who are experienced in that field is a great learning opportunity,” Rouillard said.
Rouillard portrays Amara, whose scene depicts a big breakout argument between her and her husband after he forgets their wedding anniversary.When asked about how it was to work with a student director, Rouillard said that it helped her become more in touch with her character.
“I can do what I want with my character with great direction from Bella and the writing is so in tune with how society is today,” Rouillard said.
Senior Tyler Hurley performs in a more lighthearted vignette where his character, Benny, goes to a party and sees both his girlfriend and the girl he’s cheating with. Hurley said working with a student director has been a fun and educational experience, which differs from using a pre-existing script.
“I feel like I have a lot more freedom because I know Bella and Bella trusts me a lot with my character which is really nice,” Hurley said.
Theater teacher Laura Woods said Kelleter’s leadership skills and creativity have helped foster a sense of community within the cast.
“Bella is so good at bringing their cast together,” Woods said, “We feel like a really cohesive group this year.”
Kelleter’s play is the third original play written and directed by a student. Since returning to in-person school after the COVID-19 pandemic, Woods said that students emerged with their own scripts.
“It’s great because we need new works,” Woods said “And it’s really nice to have a different voice and energy.”
The play production class agrees that having a student direct a show has been a positive experience for everyone involved. It has now become a tradition they plan on continuing in years to come.
“It’s a little surreal because sometimes I forget that I actually wrote an entire one act, which is really crazy,” Kelleter said.
