PEQUOT LAKES — The camaraderie was evident as Pequot Lakes High School one-act play participants prepared for rehearsal Thursday, Jan. 19.
The students quickly set to work on their performance of “The Candidate,” which they staged Monday, Jan. 23, at Brainerd High School and will do again Saturday, Jan. 28, at the one-act play Subsection 6A competition at Wadena-Deer Creek High School.
“The Candidate,” by Brent Holland, tells the story of four people who wake up in a room with no memory of who they are or how they got there — and no way out. As they’re put through a series of increasingly dangerous trials, they start to realize they’re actually part of a secret interview process.
It brought a lot of confidence in me and I made a lot more friends in theater than I did in sports or anything, so that just really brought me into it more.
Caitelyn Moser, a junior, plays Red, one of the four people in the room. Her introduction to acting came in middle school when she participated in Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre productions.
As a freshman, she had a part in the high school play “The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno,” and then as a sophomore she was in theatrical productions all year: the high school musical “Mary Poppins,” the one-act play “Aftermath” and the high school spring play “Law and Order: Fairy Tale Unit.”
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This school year, she also was part of the high school play “Alice in Wonderland” performed in November.
I get a lot more anxiety with competition because you're going in front of judges compared to just parents and such.
Moser began to lose interest in school sports and got more into theater, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when a theater club was started.
Her friends joined, “So I was like, I'll try it out and do that and then the play really got me into actual high school theater,” she said.
“It brought a lot of confidence in me and I made a lot more friends in theater than I did in sports or anything, so that just really brought me into it more,” Moser said. “I've always been a fan of stories so I guess acting in one — I really enjoyed that.”
She most enjoyed “Aftermath,” her first competition play, and “Alice in Wonderland,” where she played a bigger character.
It’s more nerve-wracking to stage a play in competition.
“I get a lot more anxiety with competition because you're going in front of judges compared to just parents and such,” Moser said.
Asked what she enjoys about acting, Moser said being able to show her skills and play a character.
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Her biggest fear is freezing up and forgetting her lines in front of so many people.
Of course in every production, the technical crew plays a major role. In “The Candidate,” Erin Kempka, a senior, is in charge of lights.
She delved into theater as an eighth grader in “A Christmas Carol,” and this is her 10th Pequot Lakes production. As part of the tech crew, she’s also done sound, props, sound effects, rigging and set design for various past productions.
It was my first and only acting role. It was actually a really fun experience, but just not for me.
Kempka has been part of every major high school play and most one-act plays in the past five years, as well as two Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts productions.
She tried acting once — as an eighth grader in the one-act play “Bad Auditions by Bad Actors.”
“It was my first and only acting role,” Kempka said. “It was actually a really fun experience, but just not for me.”
Communication and teamwork is so important in theater.
It was an impulse decision to try theater. Her brother had joined the one-act play, and Kempka thought that seemed cool so she did too.
Her favorite production was the GLAPA play, “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” in 2019.
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“It was a fun crew, so much fun,” she said.
Kempka finds it satisfying to see the whole play come together, complete with the set, lights and other technical details. “The Candidate” is filled with sound effects.
“Communication and teamwork is so important in theater,” Kempka said of what she’s learned through being a part of theater. “Clear communication and working with each other is important.”
There’s always a bit of worry before a show, especially a big show, she said.
With one-act plays, where productions are staged at different locations, it can be stressful to figure out those technical details on a foreign stage on the fly.
Pequot Lakes High School teacher Maarja Merlander directs the one-act play.
Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.
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