By: Sai Velamala

   Dessert Theater returns to the Marriotts Ridge High School auditorium for a one-night-only performance on Friday, February 13, at 7 pm, with tickets priced at five dollars for students. The annual event showcases the work of more than 40 GT theater and musical theater students across all grade levels combining live performance with an added incentive in the form of dessert.

   Dessert Theater is the second production of the theater department’s season, following the fall play and before the spring musical. According to the show’s director, the performance is split into two distinct acts.

   “Dessert theater is our second show of the season. We have three shows in the theater department every year: fall play, Dessert Theater, spring musical. Act one is by the GT Theater Company classes. It’s a bunch of short plays. Act two is all GT musical theater, solos, duets, and small group numbers,” theater teacher, Mrs. Greffen, explained.

   The event earns its name from its intermission tradition, where audience members are invited to enjoy unlimited desserts while supplies last. Beyond the food, the show emphasizes student choice and creativity, featuring both published works and original student-written material. 

   “It’s a great opportunity to see 40 of the most dedicated theater students in their element using material that they picked,” Mrs. Greffen added.

   Several original pieces written by students will be featured in the first act. One is “Check, Please,” a comedy centered on a series of disastrous blind dates. Another is “Sleeping Beauty,“ a satirical fairy tale parody written by senior Julia Lu. Sophomore Tonye Georgewill also contributed an original murder mystery set at a girls’ sleepover.

   Senior Neya Koshanam described Dessert Theater as a collaborative showcase rather than a single storyline. “It’s a combination of a bunch of different pieces. Different snippets of plays and musicals and some original material,” Koshanam said. 

   Koshanam performs in Killer Queens, an original play written by Tanya Georgewill, and emphasizes the creative freedom students are given. “If you have any interest in writing something or being a part of something or directing something, you could do that,” she said.

   Musical theater students prepare their performances primarily during class, with a full run-through rehearsal held shortly before the show. A student who is performing selections from Into the Woods explained the rehearsal process. 

   “During class, we spend class time working on the dessert theater, and we will have one singular rehearsal after school right before Dessert Theater to run the whole thing,” sophomore Ella Kinzey said.

   Another student highlighted the variety of performances audiences can expect. “We have a selection of different scenes from different shows, and we present them all to the whole school,” sophomore Nyah Salters said. 

   With a mix of comedy, music, and original storytelling, Dessert Theater offers students a platform to explore performance in a low-pressure but highly creative environment.