By Alexandra Gutierrez | Photo by Catherine Milton

The lights go out, the curtain begins to open. For David George, this is the first time he’s ever done a full run and nerves build inside him until his cue comes. But the second he walks on stage, they’re all gone.

When the theatre department’s One Act Play, Mary Stuart, advanced to Area this year, along with it came a whirlwind of new experiences for George. He was caught in the rush of One Act competition a couple weeks before the in-school performances. He overheard a couple of his theater friends talking about how they needed someone to act as a guard and figured it would be fun, but it was more than he bargained for.

“I happened to get a bigger part because the person [who had the part] was sick for a week,” George said.

He already knew the character, which made the transition easy for him, but learning how to truly act and deliver lines was a whole new experience. Luckily, his long-time friend, Cody Hofmockel, was able to give him tips and pointers.

“I told him to let go and let what came out, come out,” Hofmockel said. “I told him not to hold back. If he messed up, he’d be corrected but if he didn’t, he’d have something he could use.”

Within a week of learning his lines, he was thrown into his first full run through, and to his discomfort, it was in front of a live audience.

It seemed to work out for him. George, along with Hofmockel, both earned Honorable Mention All Star Cast. Castmates Shaina Rubenstein and Katelyn Czarnecki earned All Star Cast, while Dawn Thompson earned the crew award at the Area competition. Still, for George, it stood out, since he was less experienced than his peers.

“I did [get nervous] the very first time because it was the first time I ran through the show as the character, but I got used to it,” he added.

George was the kind of kid, coming into high school, who wanted to do everything. Be in band, play the violin, have the best grades, even be in theater. Cramming all that into four years seemed a little overwhelming to him but instead of shying away from this small opportunity, he embraced it.

“I wanted to [be in theater] but I also wanted to do orchestra and all these things but I felt ambivalent about it because I had never been on stage before,” George said.

This small opportunity turned into a big experience. One he’s very glad he took, one he excelled at.

“He did very well for his first time; incredible,” Hofmokel added. “We asked him to join us for a reason: we knew he could do it.”

The Theater Department will present a final showing of Mary Stuart on Monday, May 7 at 6:30.