Blanchet’s theatre department’s One Act Play Festival has a tradition of offering short, student directed plays.  

One of our senior directors this year is Emma Facer, who is putting together an ensemble to perform “If You Can’t Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry”.

Facer has a clear idea of how she envisions her production. Her goal is to create a comedic work which focuses on first impressions and personal goals, but has an inspirational message woven in.

“The message I’m trying to show with my one act is to never give up on your dreams, and never trust a first impression,” said Facer.

Because the shows are limited to only one act, they tend to contain an extremely small cast. In Facer’s show their are only two actors actors, junior Felix Halvorson and junior Reyanna Horvath.

Although Facer said the experience has been phenomenal thus far, the team has still faced their fair share of challenges. The biggest of these is the time constraints associated with only being able to work with the actors during class. Additionally, Facer says the actors are continuing to perfect their diction to be ready for opening night.  

Facer and her cast hope their hard work will pay off and their audience will enjoy “If You Can’t Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry”.

“Ultimately, I want the audience to have fun. This show is a comedy and has a lot of great laughs, so above all else the audience should take away some joy, and maybe some hopefulness,” said Facer.

The One Act Play Festival start on Friday, January 19th and goes until Sunday, January 21st at the Marge Bradburn Theatre.