For production theater, competition season is a high energy time, and it’s just beginning. 

To perfect the sets and costumes, edit the scripts and cast the show takes time. Like any other sport or competitive activity, theater needs to be carefully planned out in order to have the best performance possible.

“We typically start with the kids before we break for Christmas, so you’re looking at three months, but on our end, like for this particular show, I read it and started cutting it probably in April of last year,” theater director Casey O’Bryant said. 

The play is about a man who is trying to reach the “Castle” the entire show, but can never get there. It takes a toll on him mentally and eventually it kills him, the show is his journey and the strange interactions with the people he meets.

“ I feel good, I feel good, the show is definitely something unique and in competition it just depends on who you hit,” O’Bryant said.  “Some people like unique and respect unique and different and some people just wanna see the same old stuff over and over.”

The job of an actor is to convince the audience that they are in another world, but in order to really succeed at that, they need a good story to tell.

“ Man, I read it and I just and you know I just had hairs standing up on my arms, and I just, I paced for a while because it did something to me, you know when I read it, it took me somewhere,” O’Bryant said. “ It made me feel something that I think I’m still honestly trying to put my finger on, which is part of the fun… it’s so theatrical, it’s so wonderfully confusing.” 

There are so many moving parts behind the scenes of a great show, and on the other side of the curtain, there are people who make the show possible that the audience never sees. 

“You know I’d say it takes a lot of responsibility and organization for sure, and I also have to be mature enough to direct peers, which can be uncomfortable at times, but it’s sometimes necessary,” senior stage manager Ella Magers said.

In production theater, the students are the ones running the show, literally. They act, take care of lighting and sounds,  so maturity and patience is a necessity on the stage and behind the curtain. 

“ I’ve been in production all four years and so you know I started with acting, and ended up moving on to tech,” Magers said. “I definitely work hard to make sure that people know I care about them specifically, but also about the program, so I would say that’s how I’ve earned my title.” 

UIL One Act is a series of competitions between 8 other schools from different school districts. Beginning with Zone, which Rangers placed first, District, which Rangers placed third, then moving onto Bi District, which Rangers will compete at on March 24, followed by Area, Region and State competitions. 

The cast has been doing very well as a whole, but also individually. Jackson Posey and Aubree Reynaud both earned Honorable Mention All-Star Cast, and Anthony Mossbrooks earned Honor Tech.

“ It was a lot of excitement but also a little bit of dread having that level of responsibility, I mean not just learning the lines but just consistently working with all of my cast members in the show, developing relationships,” sophomore Rowen Hamiliton said. 

Hamilton is only a sophomore, but has been proving himself since day one. He played a large role in production’s fall performance of “Twelfth Night” and earned an All-Star Cast at the recent competitions.

“ Being coachable, coming in early whenever you can to find out not only where you’re a necessity on stage but off stage,”Hamilton said. “ Who needs to speak to me and also just general contact backstage, there’s a lot of leadership roles that my peers in the cast have had to maintain because it is necessary that someone is backstage.”