What frightens you? A scary movie; a bump in the night; your house settling? This year on April 16 and 17, the spring performance was different from any other year before; instead of one play, there was two one act plays that were full of secrecy and thrill.

Murder in the Knife Room is the zany murder mystery that will fulfill the comedic part of the night. A cast of over the top stereotypes and re-enactors take the audience through wild back stories in order to solve the sudden death of Mysterious Host in his knife room.

Michael Greenwell (’16) plays the Inexplicably Omniscient Inspector, “I view the inspector like an American Sherlock Holmes. I think he’s sort of like me in a way—kind of deductive, hell-bent on cracking the case. Plus, he’s got mad style.”

The dramatic counterpart Murder in the Knife Room is the psychological thriller, Property Rights. Kyle is trying to pay off his alimony by gaining profit on a giant machine of moving figures, but strange glitches have been plaguing the dolls, and when someone gets hurt Kyle must face the fact that something is seriously wrong with the machine he is brokering.

“As Kyle, I see myself as a nervous wreck,” said Ian Stoner (’16) the actor who is portraying the main character in Property Rights. “I’ve bought a contraption that I haven’t been able to sell, so with every customer that comes in, I get worse and worse.”

What’s the attraction?

But what makes someone want to get involved with their high school theatre department in the first place? Some people would say it’s the familial atmosphere created from everyone working together so diligently, while others think it’s the rush they get from being in front of hundreds of spectators.

“For me, it was a chance to have fun, learn how to work with lots of different people, be an exhibitionist, and learn about commitment,” said Stephen Nunns, a professor of Theatre Studies at Towson University. “Oh, and it was a good way to get girls, too!”

“I wanted to be a part of Hereford Theatre because I wanted to move out of my comfort zone and express myself in an artistic manner,” said student director Bobby Witt (’15). “Theatre is a good thing because it gives you a different perspective at life and gives you individual skills to help communicate with others to reach a common goal.”

“Theatre is a way to express myself and show who I am as a person,” said Emily Dotterer (’17). “It helps show the community different aspects of life.”

“I decided to be a part of Hereford Theatre because of the great community involved, and the quality of the shows produced with hard work,” Lizzie Pease (’17) said.

Given that there are so many students passionate about the craft within Hereford’s Theatre Department, it’s almost certain that some of the actors in the shows will want to pursue it in college.

“If students are serious about studying theatre in college, they should be familiar with lots of different plays—comedies and dramas from a variety of different periods,” Nunns added. “Everything from the Greeks, to Shakespeare, to Ibsen and Chekov, to contemporary American plays. That way they’ll have a leg up over other students when they attend college or university.”