The Priest River Lamanna High School Drama Club will be hosting a night of one-act plays including “Iron Will”, “Witch’s Brew” and “Alice in Wonderland” May 28 and 29.

Russ Bean, PRLHS drama coach, said auditions for the one-act plays began April 15, with some preparation before that. The three plays were chosen in collaboration with students, with the end goal of finding something that would be impactful and fit into a 90-minute program.

The program is the first the drama program has held since it wrapped its last production last February, right before COVID-19 reached the Inland Northwest.

“As soon as the play was over, it hit,” Bean said. “It feels like [it’s been] forever.”

Now, 31 cast members, including students from an after-school program and a few teachers, will hold the first production in over a year.

That cast size is a bit smaller than previous years, Bean said, but the enthusiasm from the students helps make up for it.

“They’re just gung-ho, they’re so excited,” he said.

Annika Rantala, one of the actors in “Alice in Wonderland” said this is her first year in the drama program. She’s nervous, she said, but excited for the performance.

For her, being able to work with other students again has been both strange and exciting.

“It was a little overwhelming [to prepare in such a short period of time] because I was trying to do track practice,” she said, “but Bean was helpful.”

One act that he’s particularly excited for is “Iron Will,” Bean said. The act was chosen by students, and tells the story of a young Eleanor Roosevelt during her time studying in England.

The act came about in part because of women’s history month, he said.

“[It’s about] her having to make some decisions about what her future was going to be,” he said.

The plays, held at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday, will be at the Priest River Junior High School Auditorium off of Highway 2, and tickets are by donation. There may need to be some limits on seating, Bean said, so tickets are first-come, first-serve.