Fall sports season may be winding down, but fine arts season is just getting started. For smaller schools like Callaway and Arnold, many of the students participate in both.

One Act Play production is an NSAA sanctioned activity, just like all Nebraska high school athletic programs. Classifications are determined based on enrollment, and Callaway is classified as D1.

Hannah Beck is in her fourth year at Callaway Public Schools, and her third year as the English teacher. She also serves as the One Act coach. She student taught in Callaway during the 2019 fall semester, and in the spring of 2020 she served as a long-term substitute teacher prior to her college graduation. Then in the fall of 2020 she began teaching full-time at the school.

“When I was student teaching, the head One Act coach at the time found out that I had done theater in college and asked if I would like to help with One Act,” said Beck.

This year the One Act team is throwing a new project into the mix with their stage performance - they are hosting a haunted house. “The way Halloween fell this year it was going to be a night that we needed to practice, so I thought it would be a lot more fun to do a haunted house. I just thought it would be a fun and different fundraiser,” Beck explained.

The haunted house will be held at the school from 7 - 9 p.m. on Halloween night. “Our One Act kids will be the actors in the Halloween Haunted House. It is open to any community that wants to come,” said Beck.

She explained there will be two different pathways through the haunted house. “One will be a little more scary, and the other a little less scary, so it is more appropriate for younger kids. The kids are really excited about it - they are definitely on board with it.”

While the haunted house is a fundraiser, there is no set fee - it is free will donation. The money raised will be for costumes, props, etc. for next year’s One Act. As for whether or not this will be just a one time thing for the team, Beck said, “We’ll see how this year goes and just go from there.”

The One Act team might be having fun getting prepared for an evening of fright, but the kids are also working hard on their competitive production. This year’s play is called “Country Gothic” by Tim Kelly. “It is about almost a cultish community, and how they live their life. It’s kind of creepy, but they all like doing kind of creepy,” Beck laughed.

The team consists of a total of 36 kids. They will perform “Country Gothic” for the first time on Nov. 7 in Ord, and that evening the team will perform for the community in Callaway. On Nov. 11 they will do a community performance in Arnold.

“Where we are co-oped for sports the community members all get to know the kids from both schools, so this way they can see the kids from both schools without having to travel,” Beck explained in reference to the public performance in Arnold. Later in November they will have one more competition, then the conference and district contests. Beck is assisted in One Act by Joel Karg. “He helps me basically keep track of all the kids,” she laughed. “And with directing too.”

Teaching in Callaway has been a bit of a homecoming of sorts for Beck. The daughter of RP and Beth Smith, she is a Custer County native, and said she is happy to begin her teaching career here.

Those attending the haunted house can enter the school through the main entrance, and they will be directed where to go from there. And be sure to mark your calendars for Nov. 7 to attend the One Act performance at Callaway High School.