The UIL One-Act Play is one of the hardest, yet surprisingly unknown, competitions available for high school students. Students are given 45 minutes to perform without assistance from their director, the theater teacher. Students are also allotted 7 minutes to set up the set and 7 minutes to take it down. If the students go one second over, they are immediately disqualified and cannot advance. Moreover, the director is instructed to sit in the audience where they are forbidden from making any contact with the students. This means that the students are completely on their own, and the stage manager is left to call the shots — for example, if the show needs to be ended early to prevent disqualification. There are usually six schools per round, with the first, second, and third place teams advancing. The rounds are zones, district, bi-district, area, region, and state.

This year, Ray High School is performing the play “Badger” by Don Zolidis for the competition. The play revolves around the stories of four women working in a factory called Badger Ordnance Works in Wisconsin during World War Two. The women face discrimination, danger, and fear throughout their time but learn to appreciate the people around them and see beauty in life. Ray will be performing in Zone B on March 2nd, 2024. Afterwards, the play will be available for a public performance at Ray. Be on the lookout for an announcement of the dates, and wish the Ray Theatre Company luck!