WHSTE prepares “Winter Stories” for Winter Week

Thomas Chan

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Above, two WHSTE members rehearse for Winter Stories. This year's performance will begin on Jan. 30. "It’s been really fun to do but very different from a traditional WHSTE show," junior Melissa Smith said.

On Jan. 30, Wayland High School Theatre Ensemble will present Winter Stories, a performance consisting of five plays. Two of the plays are written by students, and all of them are directed by students. Winter Stories will be presented in the Lecture Hall during fifth block.

“The whole Winter Stories is easier,” junior Melissa Smith said. “It’s super laid back, and since the shows aren’t more than ten minutes, there isn’t a lot to do. It has been really fun to do but very different from a traditional WHSTE show.”

The first play, written by Smith, is about a guy who is stood up on a date. Then another woman comes in and starts talking, and it escalates from there. The title of this play is “The Restaurant.”

“It is definitely exciting and nerve-racking just because I don’t know how people are going to react to my work, and that’s always kind of scary,” Smith said.

The second play, titled “Is it Me?,” is about two girls at a job interview who are both applying for the same job. The third play is more of a series of skits. “13 Ways to Screw Up a College Interview” consists of various scenarios of outrageous college interviews.

The fourth play, called “Oreos and Nose Rings,” is about three girls who are commenting on the way a girl wearing a nose ring is eating oreos.

Junior Megan O’Keeffe wrote the fifth play, “The Shrine.” This play follows two friends who realize that their friendship comes from the fact that their parents are friends. They fight and must figure out if they should stay friends or not.

“Writing plays is interesting,” O’Keeffe said. “It can’t be too short or too long. It also has to be something that the audience and cast likes.”

Last year’s WHSTE Winter Week show, “Bottom’s Dream,” was a medium-length play based off of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“There has always been a tradition of doing small ten minute shows for Winter Week. That stopped a few years ago, but we’re trying to bring it back again,” Smith said.