Finals week has recently wrapped up at Cannon Falls High School (CFHS), and students have completed countless exams, quizzes, and projects to close out their first-semester courses. However, one class had an unconventional, creative, and especially entertaining final assignment. Every year during semester-one finals week, CFHS students put down their pencils to gather in the auditorium and watch the drama class perform the play that acts as their final. The drama play performance helped students relax, laugh, and forget about the stress of finals week for the duration of the show.
This year’s drama play was called “The Top 10 Best Worst Things About High School”, and the cast, composed mostly of seniors, featured approximately 20 CFHS students. They assumed roles ranging from an agitated ACT administrator to a mother with a talent for humiliating her son. There were 10 scenes in the play, each scene correlating to one of the best/worst things about high school. According to viewer Owen Albers, a crowd favorite scene was “the parents one because it was pretty realistic and it was super funny and Gavin and Sophie acted it out really well,” In this scene, Gavin Johnson’s mom, played by Sophie Sjoquist, shows up at his school and embarrasses him in front of all of his classmates by bringing him his Spiderman lunchbox and calling him a slew of pet names. All 10 scenes were hilarious and the crowd laughed throughout the entire performance, but some scenes, such as the parent, dating, and ACT scenes, were especially comical.
The dating scene was an iconic high school cliche of two couples on a double date, one couple having the time of their lives, the other not so much. As stated by drama teacher, Morgan Schwarz, “The dating scene could have been a whole play on its own- it was fun working with the four characters on the bench (Preston, Chloe, Karsyn, and Gavin) to make this date perfect. Preston and Chloe were supposed to be the perfect couple, and Gavin and Karsyn were a perfect disaster.“ Cast member, Chloe Sjoquist, couldn’t agree more, stating “I loved doing this scene because it was so funny and got the most laughs. Everyone in the scene flowed really well together in order to create a hilarious scene.” The dating scene was indubitably one of the most entertaining parts of the play.
Another scene that comes to mind when considering the highlights of the drama play is the ACT scene. The ACT scene begins with a classroom full of students preparing to take their ACT exam. They were instructed by their teacher, played by Grey Springer, to begin their test and immediately Samuel Wagenknect, playing the annoying student, had hundreds of questions to ask his classmates and teacher. The absurdity of Wagenknect blurting out during the ACTs made the scene a crowd and cast favorite. As stated by Mrs. Schwarz, “Sam did a great job being annoying for the ACTs and Grey pulled off a very strict and annoyed teacher, which made things comical.” The ACT scene was flawlessly executed, and anyone who has taken the ACT or dreads taking it in the future can find this light and funny interpretation of a stressful exam hilarious.
Overall, the cast’s performance went incredibly well. In the opinion of Sjoquist, “With the time that we were given, we did really well. Everyone did great with their lines and nerves honestly weren’t really an issue at all.” Schwarz builds on Sjoquist’s stance, by stating “I think this group of drama students did a great job on this play. I let them pick their play each year. This group had it narrowed down to a murder mystery or this high school play; this play fit the majority of their personalities the best. Since it fit them nicely, it was easier for them to perform and make their own.” The audience of CFHS students can agree, this year’s drama play was one to remember. The relatability of the high school theme resonated with many students and had everyone roaring with laughter. Finals week was no doubt demanding for students, but the drama class took it upon themselves to unite CFHS in laughter during the most stressful week of the year.
