Image Credit: Gabrielle Mappone

“Listen to the scientists, climate change is real, and you can do anything when you put your mind to it.”

That’s the basic gist of the 2022 McCaskey Spring Children’s play, as McCaskey senior Tacura Tobler puts it.

The play, titled 3…2…1…. Second To None!, is set in the slowly converging worlds of Planet Zoe and Planet Earth in the year 2222. It follows two groups of students: one made up of aliens and one made up of humans, as they navigate their teacher’s (me) complex identity, impending doom from global warming, and an increasing threat of mass dolphination from a new principal. 

“Everyone in the play has some funny line or some type of role that will make kids laugh,” says Sofy Arce Negron, a senior. But even though it’s intended for children, the messages of 3…2…1…. Second To None! are arguably universal. Global warming affects all of us, and working together and accepting our differences are skills which are always valuable.

Just as the characters in 3…2…1… Second to None! build a sense of camaraderie and learn how to work together despite their differences, the experience of creating the production has provided a sense of community for many members of its cast—some of whom are participating in theater for the very first time. 

“I’ve always enjoyed theater and musicals, but I didn’t think I was good enough to be a part of it,” shared Liarisbeth Ramos, a junior who plays Headmaster Guntoe. “This was my breakthrough…not only is this environment and theater really nice, but everyone is so dedicated and passionate about what they’re doing.”

“The spring play has always been like a family to me,” said Sofy Arce Negron. “I’ve been working with Ms. Nolt forever. So, I find comfort in the spring play. It’s the one activity that I look forward to every year. I make kids laugh, and I meet a bunch of great new people that I’m gonna see next year. It’s just beautiful.” 

But for spring play vets like Jaden Kennett, Latiyana Colter, and Sofy Arce Negron, this isn’t the first time that they’ve been set to perform in 3…2…1… Second to None!

The script was actually written in late 2019 by a group of students and Natalie Nolt, director of the McCaskey Children’s Theater outreach program and a McCaskey East Media Studies teacher. It was supposed to be performed in 2020, but the cast only got through about a week of rehearsals before COVID-19 hit and shut the entire school down.

“It was a lot different two years ago,” says Sofy. “We had a way smaller cast, and this year we had to add people to the cast to fill the roles so everyone had a place.”

McCaskey did, in fact, have a Spring Children’s Play in 2021, but it was live-streamed and didn’t have an in-person audience due to Covid precautions. To accommodate and use this to the best of the program’s advantage, Ms. Nolt and current sophomore Ariana Candelaria wrote a new play, Rockin’ Wizard Camp, designed to incorporate social distancing, masks, and cameras connected to a livestream. 

That play was my first experience of the McCaskey Spring Children’s theater outreach program. Many of my castmates actually had the privilege of going with their elementary schools to see the spring play when they were younger, and almost daily in rehearsal do I hear stories about “The Princess King” or “The Comic Book Artist”. 

Even without being able to actually see the hundreds of students who watched, clapped (I hope), and laughed at (another finger cross), the Spring play last year, it was an amazing experience. It’s why I came back this year.

You wouldn’t be able to see it from our bagged eyes, bent heads, or slowly nodding eyes, but it’s taken a lot of five-hour rehearsals, callings of “line”, circle discussions, and kidnapping of fake children to get to this point. 

I sincerely hope that you come out to see the show, and I hope that you are able to learn something from it. I know I have.

Public Performances of the Spring play will be Friday, May 20 at 6:30 PM and Saturday, May 21st at 2:00 PM in the East Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. For more information about the cast of the show, visit https://sites.google.com/lancaster.k12.pa.us/321secondtonone/home