One Act brings tales of historical resonance to district, sectional competition

This year’s One Act, “Orphan Trains,” takes a trip back in time to explore 1853 to 1929 America. The Orphan Trains Project, led by the Children’s Aid Society of New York, joined adoptive parents with orphans in countless towns throughout the vast American landscape. Based on archives, transcripts and records of the project, the performance explores the stories of real orphan train riders and their journey through the railroads. The One Act has passed through district competition and will now move on to sectionals on November 4.   

“Orphan Trains” is a moving story told at a flowing pace, during which all the participants move as a whole and spectators are able to learn and sympathize in an authentic way.

When choosing the play, drama teacher and director Scotti Thurwatcher’s attention was caught by the teamwork the play required.

“I wanted us to have an ensemble piece, where everybody works together,” he said. “Something that had a story to tell, that came from history, a story that’s not often told and that many people don’t know about.”

The cast members are thoroughly enjoying this chance to interpret a show based on real events.

“It’s a big significance when you realize that all of these things actually happened,” senior Emin Karovic said.

Karovic appreciates the more abstract structure of the play. 

“It’s not just a linear story, but a big tree that starts at the same point and goes off into many, many different directions,” he said.

Junior Julia Skinner likes the play’s diversity as well. 

“There’s a lot of different perspectives, some people have happy endings, some people have sad endings. It really shows everything that people went through,” she said.

Thurwatcer finds the play’s dynamic structure to be especially satisfying for his young cast.

“We don’t have leads, we don’t have big roles; it’s 30 people working together to create one little thing, and I think that’s what I love most about it,” he said. 

Senior Marcus Miller is also fascinated by the flow of the play. 

“I really like how it’s so fluid, going from one story to the next,” he said. “It’s also just visually pleasing, seeing the different stage and character transitions and such.”

“Orphan Trains” is described among the cast as an emotionally deep and unknown story that people will be able to learn from.

“It’s a very heartfelt but serious story that can pull on a lot of heartstrings,” Miller said. 

Miller sees theater as an opportunity to immerse and teach the audience about the story.

“It helps illuminate things that we can’t really see or understand; if you hear about horrible things happening, say in the past or in a different part of the world, you don’t necessarily care as much if you can’t see it,” he said. “This helps build empathy if you are able to visually see what’s going on.”

Sophomore Sam Raybern believes the audience should be able to ride a vicarious experience toward a catharsis.

“Spectators will be able to walk away from the theater, feeling more pain and understanding towards immigrants and orphans even today,” they said.

Raybern believes that being part of the play enables them to understand these characters from the past and to see them as equals rather than just other people in their life.

“It’s way different than sitting in your history classroom, being able to sit and watch them almost as if you are one of them is amazing.” 

Cast members play relatable roles; Miller connects with one of his own, Mr. Lathie.

“He is a genuinely compassionate man and I like to think of myself as that,” he said. “It’s just nice to play someone who wants to put themselves out there but struggles a little bit, because I can definitely relate to that.”

Thurwatcher loves that the spectators get to hear the stories from all different sides, not just the orphans.

“One of the things I really love about the message that’s being sent is that we hear the stories from the orphans and the people that adopted them as well, even from those who organized the orphan trains,” he said. “It’s kind of cool to hear those three perspectives all in this one short little play.”

Thurwatcher values the warmth brought by the stage experience.

“The beautiful part about the stage is that it’s all welcoming, everybody in the theater is there to support and welcome one another,” he said.

Thurwatcher anticipates that everything will come together in the end during competition, which continues at sectionals on November 4.  

“There’s always something that’s going to be against us,” he said. “My hopes are high because if we tell the story, do the show well, I think we’ll be okay.”

by Marina Jimenez

Published October 30, 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue 2