On Friday, St. Catherine University hosted the State One Act Play Festival at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul. Eagan competed alongside seven other high schools, including Eastview, Minnetonka, and Cambridge-Isanti. Eagan actors took the stage at 2:15, performing their production of Doubt.

The screenplay weaves the tale of a Catholic school in the 1960s. Jackson Cobb plays the priest, Jenna Herbrand and Hannah Lopresto play two nuns, and Nyanna Wright portrays the mother of a student at the academy.

Lopresto illuminates, “It’s about the main nun, Sister Aloysius (Herbrand), and her suspicions that the priest (Cobb) is having an inappropriate relationship wth one of the school’s students. She digs into it but never finds an answer.” The One Act ends when Sister Aloysius utters, “I have such doubts.”

Showings commenced at 9:15 a.m. with Eastview. Alexandria gave the last performance of the day at 4:00 p.m. Each school presented their 35-minute selection and was evaluated by a panel of judges. Afterwards, a critique period ensued where the judges met with the students, assessing the play’s strengths and weaknesses.

While one act plays are ranked at competitions, the state tournament acts as an exhibition. The eight schools executed their pieces and sat back in-between, enjoying the other productions. Lopresto remarks, “I really liked performing but I think my favorite part was just watching the other shows because it was cool to see what they did.”

Traditionally, certain exceptional high schools receive a star at the State One Act Play Festival. While Eagan did not “achieve stardom,” Eastview High School did while enacting a different production of Doubt.