by Anna Kaye Williams
FHS junior and Eagle Beat reporter
From behind a tall pillar, a shadowy figure emerges deep in the night. A burning candle is alight in his hand, and as he floats through the wiry, rugged gates of the graveyard, the wind rustles the dimly lit grass. Like a child whispering for their mother, the wind whistles in a sing-song voice: Yellow Jack.
The Fairfield High School One Act Play cast and crew will perform Monday, March 5 at 6 p.m. in the FHS auditorium. All tickets will cost $5 and will benefit the senior scholarship. This year’s play is Lafayette No. 1 by Mandy Conner, which follows the story of a group of orphans, their experiences with a yellow fever epidemic, and “Yellow Jack,” the personification of the disease.
“This is a very moving play with so many meaningful parts in it,” senior Kaitlyn Neidich said. “I am excited to see what this play has in store.”
Directors Susan Walsh and Jeff Wright conduct auditions and place actors in roles that they feel are suitable for them. This year’s cast includes Erin Rachel, Morgan Coleman, Jack Ezell, Paula Zwicker, Suhani Patel, Jaylon Strawther, Meredith Awalt, Kourtney Mensch, Anna Kaye Williams, Devin Johnson, Clayton Granberry, Preston Long, Ashlyn Partain, Kayden Salinas, Robby Walia, and Kaitlyn Neidich. The crew includes Mayra Soto, Christina Ferguson, Sarah McHenry, Laykin Harkcom, and Garrett Mensch.
“The audition process is challenging for me as a director,” Wright said. “There are years like this one in which quite a few talented actors and actresses auditioned. It is difficult to know which ones to choose.”
The cast will also travel to Palestine on March 9 to compete at the district UIL meet.
“I feel like we’ve really exceeded our own expectations in this play,” Ezell said. “Even though there are still plenty of things to work on, I feel like we’re all making great progress.”
At practice a few weeks ago, the cast was able to video chat with Conner, One Act Play director at Connally High School, to ask questions about her view for the play.
“It was really great to get advice about my character,” Rachel said. “It was cool to have input from the actual playwright.”
Conner has written plays that theater groups across the country have performed. A trip to New Orleans, Louisiana inspired Conner to write this play and later return to the cemetery the play is named after.
“One of the bigger tombs [in the cemetery] was for orphaned children,” Conner said. “That got the ball rolling.”
The cast features mostly upperclassmen. Nevertheless, some take on new roles with larger responsibilities than before.
“This is the biggest role that I have ever played,” Ezell said. “I feel very excited, but also very nervous. There are a lot of emotional scenes I’ll have to play a big part in.”
Most of the actors and actresses cannot relate to the characters in the play, which are part of a group of orphans that run the streets. However, Zwicker, a foreign exchange student from Germany, can.
“Just like my character doesn’t have her parents with her, I don’t either,” Zwicker said. “Being the same age as her, I understand how that feels.”
Since most of the cast consists of juniors, few seniors have acting roles. Though there aren’t very many, the seniors still make an impact on the outcome of their last performance associated with high school UIL.
“I will miss the people involved in the play,” Neidich said. “We have grown to be a family. Spending almost every Tuesday and Thursday together makes us so much closer as friends.”
