On Thursday, Feb. 20 through Saturday, Feb. 22, the Hinsdale Central Drama Department performed two one-act plays. The first of which being “Ledge, Ledger, and the Legend” directed by Brody Melia, senior, and the second one being “Mind Games” directed by Sarah Lotsoff, senior, both of which are based on books by Paul Elliott. 

“We rehearsed for a little over a month,” said Erin Lundin, head of the drama department. “I wanted to make sure that [Melia and Lotsoff] felt like they were truly the ones directing these pieces. I answered questions when they asked them [and] asked them what their plans were about certain things, but other than that it was all on them.”

The first act is about a man named Peter Rutherford (played by Logan Melia, freshman) walking on the roof of a building with plans to jump off and commit suicide. He is then interrupted by a businesswoman named J.M. (played by Charlotte Froiland, junior) who tries to teach him how to jump off properly. The piece has heavy elements of dark comedy, alongside serious moments that tie it all together. 

“I was going for a more comedic tone in order to contrast with Sarah’s piece,” Melia said. “It being about suicide, we did have to work hard to make sure that the scene was entertaining, but what we didn’t cross any lines with the serious subject matter.”

The play ends with both characters walking down from the building after another businesswoman named P.J. (played by Ellie Mather, senior) tries to compete with J.M. The play has a happy ending that mends well with the overall tongue-in-cheek tone. 

“I think this piece is really about help coming from unexpected places,” Melia said. “Our protagonist, Peter, is out on the edge of a building ready to kill himself, but ends up leaving with a newfound purpose in life and a new friend.” 

The second of the two acts is about a therapist named Dr. Harriman (played by AJ Andersen, junior) helping a patient named Kyle (played by Finn Van Horn, junior) who claims that everything he sees is created in his mind. The therapist thinks this is totally ridiculous but then starts to realize that things around him are changing. For example, his receptionist Elizabeth (played by Sophie Kempenaar, sophomore), who he claims to have known for 12 years is mysteriously replaced by a different receptionist named Beth (played by Ellie Peña, junior) who claims to have known him for just as long. 

“I think that the concept that the universe is something created in your mind is really interesting to think about,” Van Horn said. “It was a fun topic to explore and act out in the play.”

Harriman’s wife, Marian (played by junior Lia Fawley) appears randomly after supposedly being out of town, only to walk outside into an abyss, never to be heard from again. The therapist gives a reasonably panicked, and aggressive performance as he wrestles with the world as he knows it starting to disappear. 

“You can put a lot of deeper meaning in different places in either one depending on how you’re viewing it, which is why I think they’re fun scripts to do,” Lundin said.

The Hinsdale Central Drama Department will perform Seussical the Musical for the spring musical on April 23 to April 25, and the 24-Hour Theatre Project on May 9.