“If you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself.” We have all heard it, but for the past seven years, the Bob Jones Patriot Players have lived it. Every year, Mr. Craft, with the help of the students in his Advanced Production class, writes a one-act play for the Walter J. Traumbaur competition. The Walter J. Traumbaur competition is the most important theater competition for high schools in Alabama. The winner of the one-act play category continues on to the national equivalent of the Traumbaur competition, the Southeastern Theater Conference. With Mr. Craft behind the pen, Bob Jones Drama has qualified for the SETC the last two years.
Great scripts are not easy to write. According to Jesse Tollison, one of Mr. Craft’s students, brainstorming starts during the summer. When school starts, the class starts working toward a decision on the genre, setting, themes, and plot. Lots of ideas get cut simply because of the limited time allotted for production. Once a solid basis for a script is established, Mr. Craft writes part of the script. The class members read it, and both Mr. Craft and the students revise the script to perfect the mood, plot, and characterization. This results in not only a great script, but also a great show.
Writing a script from scratch has its challenges. Kaylie Miller, an Advanced Production student, explained, “The script is custom-made from our class. Mr. Craft is a talented writer, and he tries to incorporate the input from all his students. He always includes parts in the script written by students.” In the end, all the members of the cast have created an original work of art. All of the actors in the class get a character with whom they can identify. Mr. Craft stated, “Writing the script gives us control of the characters, so that we can mold the actors and their characters.” However, the revision process is both lengthy and tedious. Mr. Craft says that the greatest drawback to writing a script is the time that it takes. Last year, revisions were still being made during the rehearsal before the SETC performance.
Luckily, all the work will be worth it. According to Kaylie, this year’s one-act is going to “burn your eyebrows off with the heat of its awesomeness.”
