Buchholz High School Students Shed Light On Teen Mental Health Through Original One-Acts Festival

Press release from Buchholz Drama

What is one word you would use to describe yourself? This challenging question opens the original one-act In Session, which tells the stories of five teenagers in therapy. This one-act highlights the challenges many adolescents face due to societal pressure and biological developments. Through flashbacks, monologues, and internal thoughts, five characters provide a quick, necessary, limited view into the lives and minds of teenagers.

Buchholz High School student playwright and co-director Sophia Vernon said, “As I have grown into teenhood, I have noticed the increased prevalence of mental health hardships in my friends, myself, and my community. These struggles are often exacerbated by a tendency to dismiss mental illness and neglect to endorse treatment. I wrote In Session because nobody should be isolated in their thoughts, feelings, or experiences.”

Sometimes, we need someone to listen in order to see ourselves. Call Me on the Line is a contemporary YA one-act play with magical realism. A random phone call on a landline phone connects school jock, Lucas Smith, with another high school boy, Matt, who is struggling with the stigma of being gay. Although they come from “different worlds,” they realize they have things in common and create a friendship. As they become more vulnerable, they begin to see things from a new perspective.

Student playwright Veronica Brown said, “I wrote Call Me on the Line to be a reflection of today’s generation. Every generation has had struggles, regardless of gender, sexuality, age, race, or religious views. In this day and age, the refusal to accept each other is a problem that continues to persist. Even without a magical landline, it’s about time we break these barriers.”

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zolidis rounds out the evening with a fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 Grimm stories in this wild, free-form comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun. This competition piece is student-directed by Madeline Smyth and Madelyn French.

 2022 One-Act Festival is Friday, March 4th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Buchholz High School Auditorium. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door or online at www.buchholzdrama.com/2022-one-acts.