In her first time performing on stage with Park’s Theater program, junior Estelle Tronson said she played the violinist in “Lot 13”, an act from their recent winter one-act, “Unwrap Your Candy.”

“Lot 13” was the scene selected to compete in the winter one-act competition at Richfield High School Jan. 25.

“I think this is my sixth or seventh show, but it’s the first one I’ve been on stage for, which is exciting,” Tronson said.

According to theater program director Jodi Hatzenbeller, Park’s performance did not grant them a spot in the top three, and they will not move on to the next stage of competition.

“We performed very well but we did not make the top three schools, so we will not be advancing to finals,” Hatzenbeller said.

Senior student director Katie Steiner said in the week leading up to competition, the cast and crew worked on adjustments to the lighting for the Richfield stage.

“I’ve been very proud of the work we’ve done with Lot 13, and it’s got just the right balance of darkness and humor that the competition judges love to see,” Steiner said. “The plot is set up in a way that keeps the audience in an eerie suspense.”

Hatzenbeller said she chose “Lot 13” for competition because it involves a larger cast than some of the other acts performed in the full show.

“It was an act that included a lot of students, well six, but compared to some of the others with smaller casts, I thought it involved a lot of students,” Hatzenbeller said. “I thought it had a lot of theatrical and artistic qualities to it that would serve us well for competition.”

Steiner said incorporating the musical elements of “Lot 13” proved to be a unique challenge.

“There are references to different kinds of musical elements, both blatant and subtle,” Steiner said. “The timing of lines with the live violinist was something to work with, but there are also a lot of musical metaphors weaved in along the way, both visually and in the characters’ lines.”

Tronson said having student directors was a positive improvement because it allowed there to be more attention on each individual part of the one-act.

“I really liked having student directors because there was a lot more attention that was able to be focused on each one of the individual acts, and they had a lot to say, and they definitely improved the shows, and it was fun to work with them,” Tronson said.

Hatzenbeller said the student directors used their talents to create an amazing production.

“Student directors worked out wonderfully,” Hatzenbeller said. “All four of them had an artistic eye and really strong leadership skills which led to great performances on our home stage and at competition.”