More than 130 theatre students from across the Allen Independent School District came together on October 30 for the district’s first-ever Play in a Day Festival.
The event brought together students of all grade levels for a fast-paced, collaborative challenge: to write, design, rehearse, and perform original one-act plays in a single day. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., students were divided into smaller groups, assigned a creative prompt, and given the freedom to run with their ideas. By curtain time, each team had produced a fully realized show complete with costumes, sets, lighting, sound, and programs.
The Play in a Day concept was born from a shared vision among AISD Theatre Directors seeking to unify students through a celebration of creativity, commitment, and theatrical talent. The process was intentionally student-driven, giving participants space to lead their own productions with minimal adult intervention.
The following original productions were created during the festival:
Jeweliyard Rejects
Written by: Raya Columbus, Nate Cravens, Sierra Florcik, Dani Kirkstone, Jayci McGovern, Leslie Weger
Cast & Crew:
Jayci McGovern (AHS), AJ Johnson (AHS), Alyssa Crowe (AHS), Maggie Keough (LFC), Leslie Weger (Ereckson), Anna Ingle (Ford), Hailey Hodges (AHS), Dani Kirkstone (LFC), Raya Columbus (AHS), Sierra Florcik (LFC), Leah Dicken (LFC), Varnika Sharma (Curtis), Laila Chapman (AHS), Hannah MacGee (Curtis), Lilly Price (Ford), Nate Cravens (AHS), Faith Noullet (Curtis), Allison Sesay (LFC), Zoe Egan (Ford), Noa Grace Mathaikutty (Ereckson)
It Takes Two: Legally Confused
Cast & Crew:
Ateya Wardlay (AHS), Jessie Ly (AHS), Nicholas Thomas (AHS), Samuel Burrows (AHS), Brodi Griffin (AHS), Keira Stockton (AHS), Alex Pangus (AHS), Sofia Yusuf (LFC), Isabel-Ann Obaitan (LFC), Madison Tan (LFC), Ella Adelson (LFC), Bella Urbina (LFC), Mohamed Ahmed (LFC), Sakura Byrd (Curtis), Chi Leu (Curtis), Finely Barcroft (Curtis), Cambree Hickman (Ereckson), Dani Hatton (Ereckson), Varenya Singh (Ereckson), Harper Anderson (Ford), Milad Osman (Ford)
Clicks & Gossip
Presented by The Insiders
Cast & Crew:
Connor Sell (AHS), Katerina Munoz-Panagiotarakos (AHS), Zoe Dalpini (AHS), Victoria Lopez (AHS), Aisha Ajdi (AHS), Emma Wagner (AHS), Tate Perry (AHS), Liv Ellison (LFC), Elliot Krohn (LFC), Destiny Walker (LFC), Sabrina Sutton (LFC), William Crutcher (LFC), Bryce Peltier (LFC), Charley 'Carson' Bellamy-Fetterman (Curtis), Ava Joseph (Curtis), Leah Marshall (Curtis), Joud Jaradat (Ereckson), Alex King (Ereckson), Emilyn Montgomery (Ereckson), Kingston Craven (Ford), Emma Baker (Ford)
As We Make It
Group 4
Cast & Crew:
Sarah Raishe (AHS), Laurie-Anne Cary (AHS), Caspien Pugh (AHS), De'Erica Tolliver (AHS), Sophia Koushbay (AHS), Lydia Mathews (AHS), Kate White (LFC), Keairia Williams (LFC), Sophia Cumaraima (LFC), Isabella Greer (LFC), Soumya Subramani (LFC), Dexter Bentley (LFC), Joslyn Perez (Curtis), Cooper Weatherly (Curtis), Felicity 'Ashton' Butler (Curtis), Melody Hsia (Curtis), Jesus Murillo (Curtis), Paisley Smith (Ereckson), Graham Besson (Ereckson), Nicole Fuentes-Graham (Ford), Millie Russ (Ford)
5 Worst Failures Onstage
Presented by Electric Tigers
Cast & Crew:
Pidge Sutton (AHS), Jake Tinsley (AHS), Zoey Garza (AHS), Michelle Marsalis (AHS), Sarah Gernand (AHS), Jacob McGuire (LFC), Charles McClintick (LFC), Gabriel Downey (LFC), Aren Perez (LFC), Dayana Ceron (LFC), Stella Homan (LFC), Abby Smith (Curtis), Stormy Stenbak (Curtis), Thea Fucich (Curtis), Charlie Trcka-Howson (Ereckson), Audrey Zembower (Ereckson), Sienna Saravana-Wall (Ereckson), Sophia Habitzreuter (Ford), Quinn Woslager (Ford), Memphis Bywater (Ford)
I am the Pizza Man
Presented by The Deliverymen
Cast & Crew:
Vivian Fluty (AHS), Eden Ganze (AHS), Feven Teklu (AHS), Isabella Chinn (AHS), Jane Maygren (AHS), Elliot Maygren (AHS), Allison LeGrand (LFC), Gabriela Mineart (LFC), Karlyn Goodworth (LFC), Markayla Bailey (LFC), Reyansh Gupta (LFC), Alisha Florcik (LFC), Indigo Kheeler (Curtis), Virginia Dietz (Curtis), Lilliam Stalnaker (Curtis), Halle Schulte (Ereckson), Adam Shaffer (Ereckson), Annabelle Gibbs (Ereckson), Kylie Harville (Ford), Ana Moreno (Ford)
Congratulations to all participating students and schools for making AISD’s first Play in a Day Festival an exciting success.