Latexo School Ensemble Brings Drama to the ‘One Act Play’

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

LATEXO –  Latexo Independent School District (LISD) high school’s One Act Play ensemble has changed their routine this year, switching from traditional comedies to a gritty drama putting the students’ acting chops to the test. The play has taken judges by storm, sending the group to compete next in the area competition Friday, March 31 in Corsicana. 

For teacher Lisa Sullivan, it’s her first year to work with the student actors at Latexo. She also teaches English and helps coordinate The Messenger’s student journalist program at the high school. She said the kids had mastered comedy and she wanted to break from that and presented them with a drama which leaves an impact on those who see it. 

“The play is called ‘Rabbit Hole.’ It is about a couple in their 30s who lose their son Danny after he’s hit by a car in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, they’re working through their grief separately and in very different ways,” Sullivan explained. “Their marriage hits some rough points and it becomes a play of them trying to go through their grief – which is obviously a very hard topic for kids this age.”

Sullivan said in spite of the touchy subject matter, it’s a lesson all must learn at some point. 

“It is a wonderful life lesson to learn – grief happens. You go through it. There’s a process to deal with it. And in this play, you have two examples where the mother is wanting to \ move on and clean all of the boy’s stuff out of the house, where the dad wants to see all the stuff out all the time,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan may be new to Latexo, but coming from nearby Lovelady ISD gave her a deep appreciation for the school and its talented kids. She said she was grateful for the response she has received from both the school and the community. 

“It’s a new experience to come in and try to learn your kids and learn their strengths,” Sullivan said. “Thankfully, I’ve been competing against Latexo kids for years, so I knew a lot of them already. And it’s just been great. The administrators here are fantastic – they haven’t missed a show yet. We have so many parents in the audience watching. It’s been great to be welcomed into all of this.”

Junior Isabelle “Izzy” Yorgensen, who represents the one bit of comic-relief in the serious drama, has been acting since the eight grade and also participates in golf and tennis. Few who met the shy eighth-grader at the time would imagine that shy girl now competes in UIL speech competition. She said she has grown as a person as she grew as an actress. 

“I feel it’s really helped me put myself out there and be more communicative with other people,” Yorgensen said. “I always used to have a hard time talking to people. But this has helped me a lot. I love being able to communicate with people now.”

Senior Zachary Patton plays the lead in the play, the father who can’t seem to let go of his lost child. Patton plays the role convincingly and with a passion that he conveys very naturally in the role. Even speaking about his part is emotional for Patton, who tries to understand what the family is going through and bring that conflict straight the audience. He said the transition to a more serious topic wasn’t easy at first. 

“It is taking more time than usual to get the play right, but in the meantime, we are learning new things and trying to get the same emotion out of one character. It can be hard; people can have some hard times in life and it can bring back some memories from the past,” Patton said.  It has hit me too, but it’s a good change, I would say.”

Patton plans to study business after high school, although Patton is a veteran actor, now in his fifth year of one act plays. He said he was impressed as a young boy by some of the great actors and yearned to play those roles himself, someday. 

“I guess when I was little, I used to watch old movies and action movies and I just wanted to feel like that. I wanted to save the day and for people to see me like that,” Patton said. 

Playing Patton’s on-stage wife Becca is senior Claire Catoe. Aside from acting, Catoe’s days are filled with activities from tennis to UIL and she even took off from acting her junior year to work on studies and college-level classes. For Catoe, acting is a process to further her future career. 

“I’ve always loved acting – that’s my thing. I love getting to portray different people and be different people because I want to go into psychiatry,” Catoe explained. “I like filling the shoes of a different person or thinking with a different process.”

Catoe said the new dramatic format was a challenge, but it did give the students the chance to broaden their range and work on their skills. The future psychiatry major in Catoe no doubt enjoyed analyzing her character in the play to be able to flesh her out on stage. 

“She is a mother and she has just lost her son. And she’s trying to push her emotions down, pretend like nothing happened and go about her life. But her husband is bringing it up and he’s wanting her to go to therapy and she’s trying to figure it out on her own. She has a lot of anger in her,” Catoe said. 

Catoe’s ability to identify with her character paints a picture of a real world situation many face in real life, too. 

“This is such a realistic play – people go through these types of things all the time,” Catoe said.  “So getting to see that will definitely help in my future and communication. I’m actually a very shy person. Really! This has helped a lot with that.”

Feeling good about the next round of competitions, the kids were reworking parts of the play over the weekend to be ready for the next level this week. Sullivan said what has brought them success has been a lot of hard work and the level of teamwork they have developed. 

“The great thing about our show and these kids is that it’s very much a collaborative process, where you have an actor come to you and say, ‘I feel weird about these lines. I think there’s a way we can strengthen them.’ Or, ‘Let’s work on this scene because I don’t feel like we’re getting it right.’ It’s not just me dictating to them all the time what needs to be done, because that’s not how they grow as actors.” Sullivan concluded. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]