She Stoops to Conquer, the theater’s One-Act play for this year’s UIL is an 18th-century satirical-comedy of manners that questions the way the upper class of society acts. There is also an aspect of romance between the Hardcastle’s, a wealthy, respected family out in the country, daughter Kate, and Mr. Hardcastle’s best friend’s son, Charles. When Charles, a prankster who acts differently around women of opposing social classes, comes to the Hardcastle’s house thinking it’s an inn, he meets Kate, a motivated young woman who doesn’t take things too seriously. So when Kate acts lesser than she is in reality, craziness ensues. 

This play took to the stage on Tuesday, Feb. 27 for the first round of UIL. McCallum placed second out of four schools and took home nine different awards; All-Star Technician won by Elli Grace Hodges, Honorable Mention All-Star Class won by Devin Gramling, Sam Nelson, and Tegan Hahn, All-Star Cast won by Israel Causey, Will Bowman, and Samantha Panzer, and Outstanding Performer won by Lucy Sternberg and Joseph Blackwood.

During March 1-3, She Stoops to Conquer was also performed in front of three live audiences which allowed for the McCallum community to see the play in action.

“I’d love for the audience to learn more about the One Act Play contest because it’s a unique experience,” Brookby said. “I think beyond that just showing the versatility of this program and how we can take on a period piece and a comedy while having a lot of fun with it.”

She Stoops to Conquer was first announced to the theater department at last year’s banquet by director Bonnie Brookby. 

“We did a heavy tragedy last year so we thought it would be fun to bob up and do something lighter this year,” Brookby said.

For UIL, a play can only be one act long and must take less than 40 minutes. Considering the original She Stoops to Conquer is 5 acts long, one of the hardest parts of bringing this play to life for Brookby was cutting everything down into one act.

“It’s distilled down to just the meat which makes for a very fast-paced, fun show,” Brookby said. “Cutting down [the play] without it being choppy is very hard. You have to keep the cohesion and humor while telling the whole story in just 40 minutes.” 

Another factor that must be considered for the UIL competition is that the stage starts with a blank slate. From there, the crew has seven minutes to set up the whole stage and seven minutes after the play to strike it. 

“There’s a lot of little, tiny pieces and lots of furniture,” Brookby said. “Assigning everybody their responsibilities in the setup and strike and running it as much as any other part of the show is a big challenge.” 

Even though there are many challenges, Brookby credits everyone who is a part of the show for being fun, dedicated, and creative. 

“They’ve engaged with challenging texts really, really well,” Brookby said. “I feel like they’ve committed themselves fully to creating their characters and relationships in the world as a play. I would say my favorite thing is just watching this ensemble grow as a community and as a production.”

For sophomore stage manager, Elli Grace Hodges who received All-Star Technician after the first round of UIL, there was a struggle with having seven minutes to set up and take everything down. 

“I feel like there’s a lot of stress behind the UIL competition as we have to get our show under 40 minutes to not be disqualified plus a seven-minute set up and strike of the set,” Hodges said. “I would also say the hardest part about it is the anticipation.” 

The anticipation and experience of being an assistant stage manager in She Kills Monsters drove Hodges to become the stage manager for She Stoops to Conquer. 

“When this show came around I was already filled with a passion to be a stage manager regardless of the show,” Hodges said. “I think being a stage manager is a great way to be a part of both onstage and offstage activity which is one of my favorite things about theatre.” 

Another thing that Hodges loves about working on this show is the community that has been built.

“I’ve gotten a chance to strengthen my relationship with the cast and other crew members of [She Stoops to Conquer,]” Hodges said. “I love everybody’s creativity and getting to be in a positive work environment doing what I love with the people I love is so special to me.”

Sophomore Joseph Blackwood also acknowledged how having a good connection with castmates makes the whole process more enjoyable. 

“The best part [She Stoops to Conquer] is getting to work with all the amazing people on the cast,” Blackwood said. “I have never done a UIL show before, so it is an interesting experience.” 

Even though this was his first UIL show, Blackwood was awarded Outstanding Performer during the first round of UIL for his performance of his character Charles Marlow. Sophomore Lucy Sternberg was also awarded Outstanding Performer for her performance of her character Kate Hardcastle, a motivated young woman who doesn’t take things too seriously.

When Sternberg first heard that McCallum was performing She Stoops to Conquer, she was excited to be able to get the chance to perform a period piece which is a play that takes place in a different time than the one now. One challenge that comes with a period piece is the difference between language and culture. 

“The way the people walk and speak back then is distinct,” Sternberg said. “It’s really hard to memorize the lines because their sentence structure is very different. Another hard part is being too memorized on your lines and not listening and feeling what you’re saying. The physicality is also an adjustment but once you practice it, it’s easier.”

Because of the vast differences between the two time periods, Brookby changed the approach and execution of rehearsing. Instead of blocking and then memorizing lines, the cast did extensive text work at the beginning to break down some of the old language. 

Sternberg believes this system was very successful and ultimately allowed for better understanding, leading to more cohesion between the cast.

“I feel like this worked a lot more because it made the blocking process a lot faster which I like,” Sternberg said. “I love the cast so it’s been a fun experience.” 

For Sternberg, the best part about competing in UIL is connecting with everyone working on the play. 

“My favorite is competing in UIL just because you’re stuck with such a small group, of 13-15 people, and it’s nice because there aren’t so many clicks,” Sternberg said. “Everyone is just friends with everyone and sweet and supportive. It’s been a really good environment.”

She Stoops to Conquer took the stage for round two of the One Act Play on Tuesday March 19 at the AISD Preforming Arts Center in Mueller and advanced to round 3: the bi-district competition. The cast won four awards at tonight’s performance. Will Bowman and Joseph Blackwood were named to the all-star cast, and Lucy Sternberg earned honorable mention all-cast. Carson Bragg was named to the honor crew.

Director Bonnie Bookby hopes to go as far as possible but more than that, hopes that everyone is proud of the time and effort they have put into the play. 

“I’d love to see it go as far as we can in the contest but more than that, I think just seeing the ensemble continue to enjoy what they’re doing,” Brookby said.

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