The 2023 Drama Department of Lakeview Local School District is having its annual school play. This year our play is called One Stoplight Town by Tracy Wells. We have 32 actors and 18 crew members. We are in our 5th out of 7 weeks of practice for this spring play. As of Monday, the 27th, we are officially off-book! From this point on, we will not be using our scripts anymore.

As a group, we take a lot of time and effort out of our days to produce such good work, but it is all worth it in the end. Not only are we here to put on a show, but we are here to learn from each other and make memories.

Talking with Senior Ethan Baker, he says a few things about the play.

Baker says, “I am excited for these next couple weeks of practice because it’s gonna be a lot of work, but we all can handle it. More time to hang out with friends and get more experience to improve as an actor for college! I like what the play is about, and I think a lot of people are going to relate and like the theme of the play.” 

This year’s spring play is about taking a moment to stop and look at the surrounding things: life! Sometimes in life, you get too caught up in the little things that do not matter as much. We take for granted the moments and times we have. We see a prime example of that in this play. One Stoplight Town is placed over a 25-year time period. It starts in the 1990s to the early 21st century. Within this play, we explore more about that and the different types of things while growing up.

Not only is this play helping us learn more about ourselves, but each other. We fill our practices with joy, laughter, creativity, and hard work, which causes us to create experiences. The more time we spend at practice and the harder we work for it, it becomes a more extraordinary show for not only us but you!

When asking Freshman Chelsea Walker about the play, she had amazing feedback.

Walker states, “I think that it’s really important to stop and smell the roses because that’s something I really struggle to do. I kind of just want to grow up as quickly as possible and move out of Cortland as fast as I could. I need to remember to appreciate the moment and what I have.”

Even though we all have the sense of wanting to grow up and explore the world, we also want to take a moment to sit back and relax. Even at times when it is hard for us to appreciate what we have, we still try to make the most out of it.

Lastly, talking with Junior Alex Holden, he had some wonderful things to say about the play.

Holden says, “I love this message, especially for the seniors. In my opinion, this play shows everyone how these four years of high school can go by like a breeze, and with that, we often think about the future, instead of living in the present. Having a stoplight metaphor is the best way to describe it in my opinion.”

We want everyone to look at life with a new perspective, one that is eye-opening, and to remember what we have.

We have had a couple of long nights of practice and quite a few more to come. So, as we took a lot of time and effort to produce this show, we ask you to take an hour or two out of your day to come to watch us. We will hold our show at Lakeview High School on March 25th at 7 pm and March 26th at 3 pm. Student and Senior Citizen tickets are $5 and adult tickets are $8. We hope to see you all there!