The pressure of high school theater isn’t just about remembering lines – it’s about beating the clock. This past weekend, the drama department proved they can handle the heat, securing a second-place finish at the district competition and advancing to the Bi-District round with their One Act Play, “Rebellious Women.”

On competition day, the “Seven-Minute Rule” took center stage. In competitive theater, teams have exactly seven minutes to set their stage and seven minutes to “strike” (remove) everything once the performance ends. This rule decides if they get disqualified or if they get to move onto the next round of performances.

“We have an hour to basically tape down where our set needs to go, get the lights and music together, and figure out exactly how much space we have in the wings,” junior Jaeda Archer said. “Although it’s very stressful, in my opinion it went really well.”

Not only did they place second overall, but they won a lot of individual awards as well. They received an outstanding tech award, an ensemble honorable mention all star cast award, and four cast members received individual awards too.

Now, the focus shifts to the next challenge – Bi-District on March 26-27 in Mt. Pleasant. With their first round of success behind them, the team is ready to break a leg and more importantly, beat the clock once again.