On Jan. 12, YPAS’ senior theatre class performed the play “Neo-futurists.” The show is described as 30 complete plays in only an hour, which allows for a wild array of fun.
“Neo-futurists” is composed of a mix of plays written by the senior theatre class, with very few outside plays. The show is very interactive, going as far as to allow the audience to control which plays are performed. For some plays, audience members are invited on stage and become integral parts of the show. When the crowd enters, they take seats and a clothesline with the numbers one through 30 hangs in the center of the room. When the play starts, the rules are explained; the audience must yell out a number, and whichever the actors hear will be pulled down from the clothesline. The actor will yell the number and the play name, and then it begins.
“Words of Wisdom,” written by Andy Wallace (12, YPAS), is a story about a child getting their wisdom teeth removed and the stress that comes with it. Wallace described the powerful ability to battle the stress in life through trusting oneself in tough moments.
“I love that the play has a lot of movement in it, and it’s got a fun choral aspect where I could bring a lot of the class into it. I want the audience to take away that high school is full of a lot of scary things, but we are a lot braver than we think,” Wallace said.
Many plays made their YPAS debut, such as “Having Missed its Cue, the Orange Entered Hurriedly. But Once on Stage It Found That It Had Forgotten Its Lines Entirely and Remained Paralyzed Before the Audience For What Seemed Like an Eternity,” written by a different “Neo-futurists” cast and “Six” written by Maxton Fee. Another influential play, written by Kate Michael Stewart (12, YPAS), is “I’m Scared to Tell My Grandma I’m Gay.” This show explores the fear of coming out, especially to people you love. The story follows a young girl who is trying to deal with her grandmother’s homophobia while being queer. For many, this play is something that they can connect to or will inspire them.
On the lighthearted side, “Songs of Inanimate Objects,” written by Corinne Gannott (12, YPAS), Maya Williamson, Stewart and Wallace, is a satirical musical that explores the lives of a bullying chart, a phone, the phone button and a lanyard. Another easy-going show is “High Comedy/Low Comedy,” performed by Fee and Williamson. This show takes complex comedy, a reading from Henry Fielding’s “Tom Jones,” and compares it to fart noises, creating an atmosphere of laughs.
A tradition among “Neo-futurists” is a musical that pulls from YPAS’ mainstage musical and the theatre performance. This year, the play was “Cinderwomen,” combining “Cinderella” and “Women.” Willow Fox-Young (12, YPAS), Leilani Bracy (12, YPAS) and Katherine Doran (12, YPAS) were in charge of meshing the music and the play to create a magical coming-of-age fairytale. While this play follows the narrative of “Women,” the story is told through the songs of “Cinderella.”
“Neo-futurists” was packed full of senior talent and dedication. For Gannott, the show was a wonderful full-circle moment. While this is not Gannott’s last show with YPAS, it is the last show that all of the theatre class of 2026 will be in together.
“I’ve been with these people for four years, and we’ve been looking forward to this show and brainstorming shows to write since freshman year. I genuinely could not have thought of a more perfect and chaotic show to round our theater class out,” Gannott said.
From comedic musicals to serious social commentary, YPAS’ theatre class of 2026 displayed playwriting talent and acting skill. For many of the actors, the show symbolized the end of an era. For the audience members, the play was an interactive experience that made them laugh, cry and think about highlighting many political issues.
