Theater will compete in the district round of UIL One-Act Play on Thursday. They will perform “Edward Tulane,” the story of a toy rabbit who learns to love. Director Scott Crew said it will have a new, more artistic technique.

“I’ve never done a show like this before,” senior DaeJa Young said. “We’re working with environmental theater, which is something that Mr. Crew brought into the department this year. It’s like theater, but with your bodies and limited props. It’s an interesting way to put together a show.”

Crew has directed this technique a few times before coming to Hebron and asked junior Emma Foughty and sophomore Sophia Wheeler to help choreograph the show. The pair worked together to choreograph other shows this year, such as the school musical, “Legally Blonde.”

“It’s not completely a dance, it’s more like two characters stand [there] and move in an artistic way,” Foughty said. “As the show has progressed, it kind of becomes more of a collaborative thing. Sophia and I consult everybody on how to move, but we all figure out what to do together.” 

Theater closed their production of “Legally Blonde” at the end of January, leaving the department with only a month to rehearse for UIL. They lost four of those days in the month due to bad weather.  

“It’s been stressful,” Foughty said. “We knew ahead of time that we wouldn’t have a lot of time, but there was still a lot of tension because we were all freaking out. It’s really been a process to calm down. We have all the elements [and] we finished blocking [planned stage movement] pretty quickly, but it’s still stressful. That was a challenge, but we resolved it.” 

Most of the cast members have never participated in a One-Act UIL competition other than in middle school, which has created more difficulty. 

“It’s kind of a game of chance: we don’t know until we’re there,” Crew said. “It’s like a tournament. Unlike every other sport or band and choir, we have one shot.” 

This is the first time Hebron is using environmental theater, which Crew has said has made it harder. Theater has a history of advancing to state, which would give the cast two weeks to perfect the technique before competing again. 

“I know my kids will do their best,” Crew said. “We will do as well as we can considering the challenges we’ve been through. It’s a great show. The kids do great work and I’m proud of them.”