The drama department’s unprecedented fourth production in a year opened to a welcoming and grateful audience. Four one-act plays were staged for three performances last weekend and any of the usual glitches seen in a student production were covered up by good and serious craftsmanship.

All four plays were rock solid. To be truthful, most people, including myself, were considering that with this many performances going in one night there was bound to be at least one weak link that either wouldn’t live up to the others or would drag on until the sun came up. We were all happy to be wrong.

Alice in Wonderland was especially theatrical considering most of the audience has either seen the movies or read the book. It was a large cast, including an interpretation of Tweedledee and Tweedledum with stomachs that rivaled refrigerators in size.

The Game felt like it put a twist on morality much in the way Rod Serling’s television show The Twilight Zone did. The seriousness of the tone did not falter and the play seemed to admonish the value of life thematically.

The First Fireworks was heartfelt in a way that most people feel with their moms, or at least should feel with them–but hopefully in different circumstances than in the play. The actors practiced their elocution here and brought a difficult script to life.

Bobby can Eat His Own Face shared some morals as well, namely: Watch out for your satanic sister. But Satanism aside, the real message relayed was to be careful what you wish for and remember what you have.

The drama department, unsurprisingly, didn’t fail to bring energy, vibrancy, and suspiciously lanky stage hands and originality. It’s been a hallmark of the year in the theater that was once an auto-shop and it has been the height of creativity with very few resources at the department’s fingertips.

If they can do this with such limited funds, limited equipment and even a limited stage, imagine what could be done with a proper arts budget.