Running Dog Productions (RDP) has shown once again that grit, passion, and creativity are the perfect ingredients for triumph. Intricately timed, intensely choreographed, and hilariously delivered, RDP’s “The One-Act Play Disaster” won the regional round on Feb. 2, and now, battling through intentional set malfunctions, they head to the VHSL State theater competition.
Written by Don Zollidis, “The One Act Play Disaster” follows a high-school performance of “Ocean’s 11,” which, faithful to its name, ends up being a hilarious tragedy. Cleverly directed by Mr. Zachary Collins, social studies teacher and director of the school’s Sunshine Squad improv troupe, the show debuted at the Winter One Act Festival in early January, evoking an incessant roar of laughter from audiences.
“Even if we were playing a [very specific] role, we did find a lot of our own humor in it, and everybody found their own way to say each line,” senior Sianna Eaves said. “Eventually it became kind of our own show outside the script. It’s just so timely and so funny.”
Though highly successful at its first showings, cast and crew members did not have full confidence in the show as a competition piece, joking that it would earn them either first place or last place with no in-between. The skepticism was not due to a lack of good sets, acting, or directing, but rather because of its source material: comedy.
“Comedy is sometimes looked down upon in many drama circles, but I would argue that it’s harder to do than a traditional drama piece,” Mr. Collins said. “Comedy is subjective, so to have a good comedy you need to hit as many different comedic themes as possible: from subtle jokes in [between] the lines to fart jokes, everyone finds something different as funny.”
At the regional competition, RDP discovered they were the only comedy among dramas and tragedies of Greek disposition, and the dissonant atmosphere appeared to add another tally against the group on the scoreboard. Similarly, last year RDP had the only dramatic piece amongst comedies at regionals. Nevertheless, Running Dogs moved up to the state level this year and earned a nearly perfect score for their undeniable talent.
“It actually shows how strong we are as a department and as actresses and actors,” Eaves said. “Despite being completely the opposite of everybody else’s show we stuck out like a sore thumb and we still nailed it. And we [are] really proud of it.”
Though a feeling of uncertainty looms, it has not stopped RDP from winning big categories at the Cappies theater award ceremony, maintaining a positive, strong attitude, and demonstrating that success derives from talent and effort instead of luck and name recognition.
“I was really shocked to make it into the top five actors in the region,” senior Sarah Perry, one of the five actors commended at regionals, said. “Everyone else there was so talented that when the list of best actors came out and I saw my name I was blown away.”
The VHSL State Theater competition will take place in Charlottesville on March 2, and the troupe aims to bring home a state title for theater, which the school hasn’t seen since 2017. As fate would have it, “The One Act Play Disaster” will be the only comedy in a pool of dramatic shows once more.
“This show was raised like a child and I’m glad to say that we are bringing fart jokes to the VHSL State Competition,” junior Ian Brown said. “Will we win? That’s not really the point.”
