Follow characters dealing with friends, family and love

With few props and only a black curtain as a backdrop, Shawano Community High School drama students are learning to put more into their acting, facial expressions and tone of voice than normal.

Students will perform “Among Friends and Clutter” by Lindsay Price on April 9-11 in the high school auditorium.

“This was the first play I ever directed 10 years ago,” said Maddi Stuewer, director. “I just find it to be such a beautiful, touching and also funny at times story.”

The play follows seven second graders who talk about friends, family and love. Then, the play most fast forward into their lives, and the audience is invited to see them on their first date, getting married, getting divorced and other life moments. A final scene wraps it all up.

Renovations going on in the theater required a minimal set and limited rehearsal times.

“This show lends itself very well to that,” Stuewer said. “It’s a series of vignettes, so we can take people into different areas. We don’t need everybody at every single rehearsal, and we aren’t relying on a set, either.”

The set is made up of movable blocks that act as chairs and tables, as well as a few props.

“We focus more on the emotions of the character, what drives them,” Stuewer said. “We have had good conversations about how to portray emotions, because when we strip the theater, we’re left with just the bare bones of the emotions and the story behind it.”

“Because we don’t have access to our usual building stuff because of the renovations, it really forces us to actually act and not rely on our props,” added senior Faith Flanigan, who plays the part of Joanne.

This was definitely more challenging for the students.

“A show like the ‘Addams Family,’ which they just did, you have a world that you can walk in and interact with, whereas here, you have to make a blank stage believable as a grocery store or a bedroom based on the way that you’re acting,” Stuewer said.

The cast includes 15 students on stage and another 10 in the tech crew. Some students play multiple parts or the same part at different ages.

Brezeis Breaker, a junior, plays the part of Ashley, a dreamer who has issues with her family and wants something bigger in life.

“I like the people who are always involved, but I tried out for this role, because I want someone who is different than who I usually am and someone I had to try to reach out for more to understand and better act for.”

Playing the part of a second grader means concentrating harder on the role, especially the voice and the mannerisms. Being friends with her fellow actors helps.

“You know everybody, and if you don’t, it’s really easy to get to know them, because you work so close with them.

Breaker said one of the big challenges for her is many costume changes and the very little time to make those changes.

Flanigan’s character struggles with her mental health throughout her life. It’s a role very much opposite of one she had in the spring of 2025. She played the part of Leanne in “Puffs,” a comedic play by Matt Cox that retells the Harry Potter story from the perspective of the Puffs (Hufflepuffs), a group of often-overlooked students at a magical school.

“(That was) the polar opposite of this character where I struggle with my mental health,” Flanigan said. “I was a really happy person in that one.”

The one-act play lasts a little more than an hour. Stuewer said the show is for all ages.

“I hope everybody enjoys the show,” Breaker said. “We put a lot of hard work into it.”

kpasson@newmedia-wi.com