As the curtains rise up from the stage, the actors prepare for their lines, and the audience watches closely.  When the actors step up to the stage to perform, the message of the play shines through as there is hope even in the most unexpected situations.

The play, titled “Unexpected Hope,” is an original play written by art teacher Emily McLemore with music composed by percussion director Michel Wimberly.

“As a theatre director, I wanted a good show about Sadako Sasaki, but I could never find one,” McLemore said. “I directed a simple reader’s theatre story of Sadako twenty years ago, but there wasn’t a strong play. So I decided to write one myself. I also decided to use the struggles that my daughter faces in her life as a counterpoint.”

Even though the play could only be about 40 minutes long, the amount of hard work the students put into each performance is shown through their theatre skills.

“The show in it’s own way is magical,” theatre student Aislinn Oxford said. “The members of our cast and crew have to go for a lot of hard work and stressful situations that tire us both mentally and physically, but I believe that it’s worth it.”

Furthermore, the music production emphasizes the emotions in each scene.

“I wanted to make sure the main characters had their own theme,” Wimberly said. “If you listen closely, many of the pieces still have just a little of that theme running throughout. Most of the music has a little Asian flare to it so it’s centered around the piano. However, there is also a vibraphone, bird whistles, a gong and few other little nuances in there.”

The entirety of the show is very inspiring and gives audiences a glimpse of something hopeful and a look at what might be going on in different perspectives.

“The storyline is two parallel stories,” McLemore said. “One storyline is Sam and her struggle with chronic health problems and her journey of finding hope. The parallel storyline is that of the true story of Sadako Sasaki  and the legend of 1000 cranes years ago.”

Stories aside, this play is actually based on real life events of itself and carries an impact on people.

“Our show has special meaning, being written by Mrs. McLemore,” theatre student Hagen Carter said. “Multiple characters from the play are based on real people.”

When the theatre group competes in the One Act Play contest, it’s very important that the show is ready to be performed in front of judges.

“The idea is to take a play that is less than forty minutes to perform at another school with a unit set that each school has, limited performers, and a crew to be able to tell a story,” theatre director Mindy Pope said. “Afterwards judges evaluate it and decide who the winners are,”

Interestingly enough, almost every branch of fine arts is involved in the production.

“Art, theatre, dance, choir, and band have each found success every year,” Wimberly said. “We also work very well as a team. Take this play for example; Mrs. McLemore, the art teacher wrote it. Mrs. Pope, the theatre teacher is creating it, and I, one of the Band directors, am putting the music together.”

In their first competition, the theatre group advanced in past the first round of the contest and will be competing once more.

“It’s a really beautiful story,” Pope said. “Keeping your mind in the right frame and it can help you find peace in really traumatic moments in your life.”