Christmas in September

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year,” said Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ famous character from A Christmas Carol. 

Second Baptist School theatre students certainly honored Christmas with their humorous and joy-filled rendition of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and their chillingly poignant performance of A Christmas Carol.

With 24 seniors in the cast, there was an abundance of leadership backing these performances, carrying these shows to new heights. Indeed, the cast was full of upper school student leaders, including Head Fellow Ellie Veeningen ‘23, Publicity Prefect Ava Buehler ‘23, Admissions Fellow Reagan Yarborough ‘23, Athletics Fellow CJ Hobbs ‘23 and Arts Fellows Mackenzie Ceballos ‘24 and Brant Decker ‘23. In the all-star crew, Head Prefect and National Merit Semi-Finalist Josh Collins ‘23 led as stage manager and National Merit Commended Scholars Edward Millard ‘23 and Max Flessner ‘23 served as sound technician and deputy stage manager. Moreover, eleven members of the cast and crew of One Acts recently made the TMEA All-Region Choir and will go on to compete further for state recognition. 

Campus leadership roles notwithstanding, these students led in tangible ways both on and off stage. Freshman Kambell Crites commented, “The upperclassmen taught me the importance of theatre and how hard work brings only beauty. Theatre is a community full of loving, creative people. I learned to be a better person, and I picked up a few tips and tricks for stage success too.”

Stage manager Josh Collins ‘23 described his leadership role on crew, saying, “I learned to delegate areas of responsibility to capable crew members, and we ended up having technically amazing shows.” He continued, praising his fellow classmates, “I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such a strong senior class, and I am grateful for the leadership experiences I gained by leading a cast and crew. It was a huge undertaking and an honor.”  

Beyond the high levels of leadership, students in theatre gained valuable life lessons from this year’s shows. Brant Decker, who played Ebenezer Scrooge, said, “I have been incredibly lucky to be a part of Second Theatre Company all four years of high school. I have learned so much as an actor, and I will always remember [Director] Mrs. Blade’s guidance.” 

Finally, junior Lily Tondera shared her specific takeaways from this year’s shows. “I will take away the realizations regarding the blessings we have at SBS and in our lives. We learned from the Herdmans in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to take nothing for granted, including our knowledge of God. And, we learned from Scrooge that having joy in our hearts is what allows Jesus to shine through our lives.”

Photos from One Acts 2022