The 39 Steps wows One Act audiences, wins two All-Star Actor awards

Alex O'Brien and Sydney Dyke|November 5, 2014

Six talented high schoolers blew the crowd away with their performance of the One Act play The 39 Steps on Thursday, October 30.

“I was very happy with everyone’s performance including my own. Last night, we really came together as a cast and gave the audience an incredible show. I’m feeling very confident about what is to come,” senior Matt Long, who played one of the clowns, commented.

The 39 Steps started off with the introduction of Clown 1 and Clown 2, played by Long and sophomore Jordan Warren. After, Annabella and Richard Hannay, played by senior Tatum Bjerklie and sophomore Emmett Schindler, took the stage. The audience learned that Annabella is a spy withholding highly confidential information and involves Mr. Hannay in her shenanigans. During the middle of the night, someone murdered her due to her knowledge of the intel, leaving it up to Mr. Hannay to continue her hunt.

“The funniest part from the play, in my opinion, was when Annabella was crawling over me and planked (died) on top of me in a chair. The only struggle was when I had to wiggle out from under her,” Schindler said.

On November 1, the cast and crew attended the One Act competition held at Kennesaw Mountain. Long and Warren were recognized and won All-Star Actor awards.

“I think the play went very well, it was the first night and that was very exciting, but we had some bugs to get out, but I think we did very well for the first night.” said senior Jessica Sloane.

The 39 Steps premiered on October 22nd, 24th, and 30th. The play consisted of six cast members, a backstage crew, and directors. “I really enjoyed the play. Some scenes made me laugh and others shocked me,” senior Taylor Powers commented. The frenetic energy backstage never translated to the on stage cool and collected cast. Seen here, senior McKenzie Braddy applies her own makeup as junior Darby Franks sets up materials.
Alex O’Brien
The 39 Steps premiered on October 22nd, 24th, and 30th. The play consisted of six cast members, a backstage crew, and directors. “I really enjoyed the play. Some scenes made me laugh and others shocked me,” senior Taylor Powers commented. The frenetic energy backstage never translated to the on stage cool and collected cast. Seen here, senior McKenzie Braddy applies her own makeup as junior Darby Franks sets up materials.

The production was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the actors, tech, and the talented director, Mrs. Oz. Since the beginning of the first semester all of those involved in the production have dedicated countless hours after school in order to make sure the show was a hit. And it was. The team received a standing ovation for their first production, and many commented that the show was one of the best productions yet.

“The production was an excellent display of the talents North Cobb has to offer. The actors and actresses portrayed their characters wonderfully, especially for their first night. It was an astounding performance overall,” said parent Melissa O’Brien.

The actors and actresses also felt that opening night was indeed a very amazing performance. After shaking off their pre- show jitters backstage,the cast took the stage and began to act out the lines they had worked so hard on in the past weeks. Afterwards, the cast and crew expressed that they felt that the show flowed well and was performed to the best of everyone’s ability.

After this stunning first performance, everyone on set feels ready to take on the other schools in the upcoming One Act competition.