Smile for the Picture

High school can be very difficult and sometimes what you see in a photo isn’t the reality of the teenage experience. Oftentimes there is more going on than what you can see in a selfie. This relatable, meaningful subject is what the Maclay Upper School Theatre Company displayed on the stage during their production of the one act play, “Selfie.” 

“Selfie,” written by Bradley Hayward, follows a group of high school seniors as they document their lives in a series of pictures and selfies. One click at a time, they start to see that their lives aren’t defined by what is displayed in a picture. The Maclay Upper School Theatre Company brought this powerful message to life with their amazing, impactful performance of this play. 

“Selfie” is a one-act play which means it is short and sweet. The performers have to give their all when bringing this script to the stage. The set was very simple; on stage they had a projector showing an array of photos and selfies that aligned with what each character was saying as they told their stories simultaneously. This really added to the visuals of the play and helped the audience understand what was happening. 

The actors and actresses from the Maclay Theatre Company did an amazing job of bringing the stories of their characters to life. The performance seemed masterfully rehearsed and went smoothly. There was not a single line of dialogue that was noticeably messed up. Every actor and actress had their lines memorized and were able to put a lot of emotion, humor and vulnerability into their scenes. Considering the set of this play was simply a backdrop of selfies, they had to act out scenes with only their words and expressions. With this being said,  it was easy to understand exactly what the characters were meant to be doing even without an elaborate set behind them. The only issue that was apparent in their nearly flawless performance was the occasional line being difficult to understand at first. Meaning, the annunciation of words could have been better at times. However, this took very little away from the play itself. Even with this one critique, the performance the Maclay Upper School Theatre Company gave of “Selfie” was one of excellence. 

What stood out most about the performance was the acting itself. Portraying a group of high school seniors, each with a different life and backstory, the actors and actresses on stage did an amazing job of giving their characters an authentic story and pulling the heartstrings of anybody watching the play. Each line was delivered very well and backed with realistic emotion and passion. The characters of “Selfie” had to deal with problems such as facing bullies, body image, eating disorders, parent pressure, sickness and self-judgment. These serious issues are no easy thing to portray on stage, yet the Maclay Upper School Theatre Company truly did a great job of making their characters’ stories seem real. 

Since “Selfie” deals with such realistic and serious issues that are common in high schoolers, the overall message of the play was very important. Not only did they bring these issues to light on stage, but this play was really good in helping to remind everyone watching that they are never alone. Towards the end of the play, the characters reinforce three key ideas: it is important to be yourself, make the right choices and remember that beauty comes from within. 

Overall, this play was executed amazingly and featured very good acting as well as an important message hidden behind its humor and vulnerability. It touched upon many overlooked issues that high school students everywhere deal with and endure daily. The actors and actresses from the Maclay Upper School Theatre Company gave admirable performances and really brought this important message to life.