On Jan. 16-18, the KHS drama department put on their annual black box winter play, which this year was “Quest! One Play To Rule Them All.”

The play, which was directed by Assistant Theater Director and English teacher Christina Staker, tells a story of a group of heroes who come together to go on a huge quest. However, once they all meet, everyone has their own excuse as to why they cannot go on the huge quest.

This year’s winter play is drastically different compared to past winter plays, especially last year’s “Medea.”

“I wanted something that had [a] type of like goofy vibe, so I looked for something like a comedy and found this one,” Staker said. 

Although the show is naturally funny, the actors have had to do some hard work to perfect their characters.

“I think it makes it a lot more fun when you can get into a character that is so unlike yourself,” Staker said. “It’s kind of like an experiment.”

When playing complex characters such as the ones in “Quest! One Play To Rule Them All” the actors have to make bold decisions, which can feel scary or intimidating at first. Staker has noticed that this group has not had that struggle.

“What’s really cool about this cast is that very few of them were afraid to take risks from the very get go,” Staker said. “They were making choices with their characters.”

Because of how they felt comfortable to take risks for their characters, the cast members have bonded through their share of hard work and dedication to the show.

“I love being able to interact with castmates in a way that’s very humorous,” senior Daniel Somerlot said. “It’s a lot of fun having to work together in a scene and be something so different [from] who I am in real life.”

Intricate and complex characters are not the only thing about this show that’s challenged the actors. Some cast members have noticed that they’ve grown as actors in various other ways.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more range,” Somerlot said. “I didn’t know I could do any voices until this year because I played very reserved characters in previous shows.”

Adjusting the voice that they act with also comes with additional challenges for the performers in regards to how loud they speak and how clear they enunciate.

“It’s a very tight space compared to any other acting space,” Somerlot said. “The difficulty is just trying to project but not be in people’s faces.” 

Many others have found that this show has helped them with performing because of the space.

“It’s kind of the only time I’ve been able to work on delivery,” sophomore Mateo Steuer said.

As a result of how the cast bonded with each other, many of the performers draw inspiration from each other.

“[I love] seeing all the choices that people make,” Steuer said. All of the castmates have different characters, but they all connect in some way throughout the show. Because of this, they are able to draw similarities and differences between characters to help refine their own characterization. 

Cast members have learned different performing skills that others haven’t because of the roles that they played. Senior Bianca Garcia’s bard character has helped her develop a skill that her castmates didn’t have to.

“I learned how to overcome singing in front of other people,” Garcia said. The bard sings a song during the second act of the show, and Garcia has to perform it to not only her scene partners, but the audience as well. This is something Garcia has never really done before.

“Saying a huge speech is one thing, but singing is a whole other level,” Garcia said.

The cast has also grown to love the show itself and how funny and silly it is.

“[The show has] a lot of plot points that you don’t think that you can use in a play or you [could] make a story out of, but it works,” Garcia said. 

Though the show is a comedy at heart, it has moments of friendship and teamwork.

“[The show is] a blend of serious and silly,” sophomore Jo Ramsey said. “It has its deep moments, but it’s also mostly funny.”

Ramsey, just like other cast members, has learned something from participating in this show.

“Not all my characters are the same, so learning to quickly switch between them is something I’ve never really practiced before,” Ramsey said. The differences in characteristics and personalities between the characters Ramsey plays has allowed her to grow from the start of rehearsals up to performances.

“I know to commit and be myself and just be fully open with what I’m doing,” Ramsey said. “[With] what I’m trying to put into my performance.”