On May 6-7, the theatre department showcased their senior one act play performances or SOAPS. They showcased “Alibis”, a humorous murder mystery. The unique aspect of having SOAPS is that they are senior directed plays in which the majority of underclassmen get to act and gain necessary experience on stage.

“It’s like one last chance for seniors to be able to show what they learned and what they love about theatre,” senior Mya Barry said. “For this show I was a director. I really enjoyed it and it was good seeing and experiencing one last thing in Rouse.”

For the mill noir scene, seniors Chloe Hannon and Jackson Haig co-directed

“When I started reading the script I immediately was drawn to the mill noir scene,” Hannon said. “As a director, I had to read through the script several times because it was just so confusing. I figured if I’m going to have a cast who’s going to trust me with the process and everything I have to have a good understanding of it.”

Hannon and Haig, as co-directors, were in charge of leading their actors through their designated scenes with aspects like projection, staging, read throughs and lastly rehearsing.

“We would have the actors stand up and say their lines and give them tips as we go,” Hannon said. “Eventually, I would let them rehearse and then at the end I would give them notes. It took a while for them to get their lines memorized because we didn’t have that much time for SOAPS. It’s very condensed in a small period of time.”

SOAPS is one cohesive play but features eight different acts in total which range from seven to 10 minutes.

“I think it’s probably a little easier for seniors to direct,” sophomore Joseph Quinn said. “Because there’s more time for them to work individually with you instead of one director guiding everybody.”

The directors were also responsible for mapping out any props, sound effects and lighting they wanted for their designated scenes.

“In the previous shows I’ve done I’m usually a deck captain or set crew,” Barry said. “SOAPS has a great way of tying everything you’ve learned in your years together. It’s nice to be able to do something meaningful and leave the underclassmen with long lasting memories of us and being able to just experience something you’ve created one last time.”

SOAPS also benefits other underclassmen actors as it gives them an opportunity to make their first jump on stage.

“It’s really just to give underclassmen an opportunity at getting more experience with theatre,” Hannon said. “Especially because there’s only so many roles in fall show and musical. A lot of people began in theatre with SOAPS so we get new people into SOAPS and then the people who have been in theatre kind of close out the year with something fun. It’s really just to have fun and kind of as a way to give seniors a full circle moment.”