On January 29th, 2016, the Studio 2 Class of 2015-16 performed “Oh No!” in the Little Theatre. Taught by Mr. Thomas Weaver, the Studio II performers prepared throughout this first semester class in preparation for the “big” end-of-semester performance.

Beginning at 7 PM, the show comprised of 29 short scenes, each lasting no more than four minutes. Ranging from monologues to partner scenes and from comedy to drama, the show was extremely diverse in content and style.

The cast consisted of 16 students: Jamie Gottlieb (‘16), Hannah Yankowitz (‘16), Natalie Chadwell (‘16), Rachel Ackerman (‘16), Jamie Ackerman (‘16), Spencer Lincoln (‘17), Eric Zavadsky (‘16), Bethelly Jean Louis (‘17), Cedric Middleton (‘17), Jackie Orlando (‘17), Jonathan Wallace (‘16), Jack Breslow (‘17), Sarah Gagarin (‘16), Harrison Smith (‘18), Katie Aylesworth (‘16) and Jane Sul (‘16). Each student performed in at least two out of the ten brief performances that took place throughout the night.

The initial show, “Spring Storm,” by Tennessee Williams, a drama, featured the talents of Gagarin and Aylesworth. Following their performance, were Jean-Louis and Wallace in “Bad Audition,” poking fun at the traditional theatre audition. The third show of the evening, entitled “Psychologist,” starred both Zavadsky and Middleton, the former convincingly performing as the psychologist with unconventional methodologies, and the former as the patient, harboring severe anger issues.

Following the comedy was “Heart Breaker,” performed by Lincoln. Particularly heart-wrenching, the monologue focused on a girl who was committed to an insane asylum after murdering her best friends. “Oh Baby” then lightened the mood, courtesy of Chadwell and Yankowitz. The show focused on two friends, one who is currently in the midst of a pregnancy scare. Breslow then delighted audiences, following Chadwell and Yankowitz, with his own comedic monologue entitled “Pterodactyls”.

Orlando and Smith then partnered up to put on “Becky Show”.  “The Doctor is in”  once again showcased the brilliant partner work between Middleton and Zavadsky. The absolutely hilarious, “Spork” followed this show, featuring the supreme comedic styles of Gottlieb and Jean-Louis. The final performance of Act 1, “Sonia, Masha, and Spike,” was a big spectacle featuring excellent acting and two thrown mugs, all courtesy of Zavadsky and Gagarin.

After a brief ten minute intermission, Act 2 of the show began with the comedic “The Gingerbread Lady,” showcasing both Gottlieb and Chadwell. Both Ackerman twins made their first appearances in the the next two shows, Rachel Ackerman in “The Underpants,” with Aylesworth and  Jamie Ackerman in “Dear Phoebe,” with Breslow.

A short portion of “Twelfth Night,” a Shakespearean classic, was performed by Sul and Jean-Louis. Next, “Brief History of Helen of Troy,” was acted out by Orlando and Rachel Ackerman. Sul and Jamie Ackerman then teamed up to perform “The Dew Point”. “G.P.S.” featured the talents of Lincoln and Wallace, Lincoln performing offstage as a car’s voice and Wallace as the man who falls in love with his car.

The second to last performance of the evening, was entitled “Ignored English Teacher,” which once again featured Zavadsky and Middleton. This skit featured an open format in which Zavadsky (teacher) spoke directly to the audience. Due to the varying responses of ignorance or responses he could have received, Zavadsky actually had multiple versions of his performance prepared. The final performance of the night was “B-A-N-G-K-O-K,” which simply brought the house down. Loosely based upon the 25th annual Putnam Spelling Bee, Yankowitz and Smith starred as rival spellers, in which Orlando chimed in as the Spelling Bee moderator.

Out of the 29 aforementioned shows, five were written by the students of the class themselves. These shows included “Bad Audition,” by Jean-Louis; “Psychologist,”  by Zavadsky; “Heart Breaker,” by Spencer Lincoln; “Oh Baby!” by Chadwell and Yankowitz, partially “G.P.S.” by Lincoln and Wallace and finally “B-A-N-G-K-O-K” by Smith.

Chadwell and Yankowitz initially were “worried that it would be difficult to portray a pregnancy scare,” as neither of them had ever experienced anything like it before. However, the two were surprised by the outcome of their collaboration.

“We knew we wanted to do a funny scene,” said Chadwell, commenting on her collaboration with Yankowitz, “and we realized we’re kind of a dynamic duo. So it actually turned out really well.”

Further, the two were able to complete the show in an extremely expedited amount of time.

“It took us one class period to write it, and then the next class period to review and block,” said Yankowitz.

Smith, also wrote his own show, which was actually selected as the finale of the entire collection of short scenes.

“I got my idea from “This is a Test,” which is a one act from last year, and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” said Smith. “I wrote it for Hannah and me because I already knew that we worked very well together.”

In the show, Smith and Yankowitz prided themselves on making their characters come through with their “actions,” as opposed to simply their “words.”

Overall, “Oh No!” was a theatrical experience filled with laughs, tears and everything in between. Make sure to see the next East theatre performance of Beauty and the Beast, opening on February 26th at 7 p.m.