Every spring, Chandler High’s Theater Company, APAC, holds its Senior Recitals. This annual tradition involves performances of one-act plays hand-picked and directed by graduating seniors. This year’s Senior Recitals will be held on May 1, 2025, and tickets are only $5 at the door in the Chandler Center of the Arts’ Bogle Theater.
This year, the night will be filled with comedy as the performances showcased will be “So You Wanna Be a Cheerleader,” written by M. G. Davidson, “Bad Things Happen to Good Actors,” written by Ian McWethy and Jason Pizzarello, and finally, “Mmmbeth” written by Allison Williams. Senior Recitals is the perfect occasion for families and friends to enjoy a night of laughter for a cheap price!
The first performance will be “Bad Things Happen to Good Actors” by Ian McWethy and Jason Pizzarello, directed by seniors Hailey Laidig and Joshua Gonzalez, and featuring CHS students Elle Patterson, Brayden Nesbitt, Xilan Squire, Claire Likes, and others. This play, in which a live performance of the popular musical and movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz seems to go hilariously wrong, will feature a cast of actors playing familiar characters such as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and many more. In this play-within-a-play, the performers experience a series of hilarious mishaps, including missed or forgotten lines and unfortunate stage accidents, involving their fellow cast members as well as the audience. Senior directors Hailey and Josh chose this play as a way to bring both senior and underclass members of APAC together in humor. For these two APAC directors, this one-act play represents an opportunity for one last laugh with close friends and family. (Fun fact: Playwright Jason Pizzarello is a Chandler High School alumnus, who also wrote and performed in Chandler APAC’s “Bethel Park Falls” in the fall of 2023.)
The next performance will be “Mmmbeth” written by Allison Williams and directed by senior Grey McIntosh. Based on the classic Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth, this performance will feature characters such as Mmmbeth (played by APAC member Lily Cash), Lady Mmmbeth, and Banquo. In this one-act play, the original story of Macbeth is overtaken by the three witches, the original villains of the story, and the events that are supposed to happen in Shakespeare’s original take a completely unexpected turn. Director Grey McIntosh chose this one-act to stage because of how it successfully turns a heavy storyline into a light-hearted experience. Grey’s goal is to make this one-act a laughter-filled experience for all. (Fun fact: In the theater world, it is considered unlucky for a crew and cast to say “Macbeth” off-stage—yes, even if they are performing the actual play Macbeth! It is believed that saying “Macbeth” will result in accidents, injuries, riots, or worse because the play has a horrible curse on it. Oftentimes, a cast and crew will refer to Macbeth as just “the Scottish Play” to ward off bad luck.)
The last one-act, “So You Wanna Be a Cheerleader,” written by M. G. Davidson, will be directed by seniors Riely Foerst and Bella Dana. Unlike the other two one-acts, this play is an original story. In this one-act, cheerleaders Brittani, Britnee, Britney, and Kevin want to compete in Nationals, but they are in dire need of one more member to qualify for the competition, so they host tryouts with the strangest yet funniest characters in school. APAC members Dominic D’Amico, Shayla Forero, Rocky Landgren-Lee, Leo Iverson, and even Ms. Stephanie Likes play the four cheerleaders and their hopeful auditioners. Riely Foerst explained that she and Bella are “extremely excited to work” because the actors are “disciplined, multi-talented, and [exhibit] impeccable characterization skills.” Riely described this one-act as the “perfect fit for our classmates” because every actor is a part of the APAC family. Riely and Bella’s main goal is to make this one-act a core memory for all senior APAC members in their last month of high school.
Each year, Senior Recitals is a final goodbye to our lovely seniors, which is why this has been a cherished tradition for so long. APAC welcomes the CHS community to share this special tradition with them on May 1, 2025. Tickets will be $5, sold at the door in the CCA.
