On Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7:00 p.m., as the rain poured outside, I stepped inside the warmth of the SCHS theater to watch “Winter One Acts.” After watching multiple plays from the SCHS drama department, it is safe to say that I have enjoyed seeing the talent and determination this group has. Their growing skills allow them to produce one remarkable show after another, each one standing out from the others. Even more, the current shows are solely written and directed by students.

Last February, the drama department presented “Almost, Maine,” a set of vignettes that shared motifs of love, humor and hardships. Each one focused on a different character going through a meaningful relationship, allowing them to learn more about love.

This February, they produced “Winter One Acts.” In a sequence of short plays, all different from each other, the drama department engaged the audience by using humor and relatable scenes. The relevance of the pieces allowed the theater to recognize and reflect on the parallels between the emotions that actors presented in comparison to their own.

Both “Winter One Acts” from this year and “Almost, Maine” from last February have similarities that are evident for returning watchers like myself. While different from the fall play and spring musical, shows performed in February usually consist of a sequence of smaller plays, acted by different students. This change in characters and plot keeps the audience more involved.

While “Almost, Maine” had multiple short plays focused on different characters all learning about what it means to love and be loved, “Winter One Acts” did not have a dominant motif. Instead, it was based on a prompt and a required item: an unopened letter. Additionally, every scene included the line “I never wanted to open it.”

Each student writer interpreted the prompt in their own way, creating a story based on what they expected from an unopened letter. The different approach in the coherence of the play showed the creativity of the students, not only in acting but also in writing.

Performed by sophomore Azalea Bieber, senior Clarissa Co, sophomore Giliane Bona and senior Jenna Soper, the short scene “A Deathly Promise” featured a young girl who received a letter along with a dead squirrel at her front doorstep, later finding out it was from her crush. After opening the letter, the girl forces her friend to read it out loud. The friend reads the letter claiming that the girl’s crush wants to kill her. Afraid and betrayed, the girl claims “I never wanted to open it.” Later, the girl finds out that her crush never wanted to kill her. She misinterpreted his words in what was his promposal to her.

“The Voice” is based on a girl who lets her inner voice take over many aspects of her life. This scene was acted by senior Aleeana Salazar, senior Jiin Estropia, senior Reagan Reilly, sophomore Victoria Luzuriaga and sophomore Yihan Ran. The segment starts while the girl is at school and is asked to hang out with her friends. Although she would love to spend time with her friends, her inner voice tells her that she is unworthy of friendship and is only asked out of pity.

Throughout the scene, the girl learns to accept herself as who she is and only listens to the voice as a precaution. Even though the scene was only a few minutes long, it showed the audience that they should learn to love all of themselves and embrace the slight inner fear.

Filled with humor and lively actions, “Camp Uncanny” follows two friends, played by Bieber and Ran, and one ghost, played by senior Siyona Sharma, as they navigate their way through the woods. At the beginning, the friends are arguing about the directions and their whereabouts, and the ghost dwells over the fact that she has no friends and is not seen by anyone near her.

During the scene, the ghost would interrupt the friends, and this was evident to the audience when the girls would go quiet, almost as background action. As the scene plays out, the audience learns that the ghost wishes the two friends would die so she could have friends and be seen by others. The ghost ends up receiving her wish, yet is still not satisfied by their company. The way the scene transitions from the perspective of the friends to that of the ghost showcases the drama department’s talent for scriptwriting.

Even though the themes and presentation of “Almost, Maine” and “Winter One Acts” vary, the endings always share an important message to the audience. Fitting with the theme of the season, “Winter One Acts” teaches the audience the importance of loving others but also loving oneself just as much. The similarity of unopened letters and the line “I never wanted to open it” connects the different perspectives of each writer into one coherent overall message.