After a 3 year hiatus, Boulder High’s Troupe 60 Black Box production returned to a more traditional Black Box format – minimalist sets, a lack of technical sound and lighting, and most importantly: audience seating in the thick of the action. As is customary with Black Box productions, the audience was seated on stage wrapped around the designated performance area, and Troupe 60 took full advantage of the change.
This year’s production consisted of three student-directed one act plays, Tick Talk directed by Lily Kraus ‘25, Captive Audience directed by Oli Ruzic ‘24, and No Horse Town directed by Eli Frick ‘24, running one after the other with no intermission.
Opening the performance, Tick Talk (Written by Lindsay Price) was an avante-garde exploration of teenage life elevated by excellent blocking and choreography utilizing the stage to great effect. We follow 12 teenage personalities, each for the most part limited to only one line such as the nihilistic “Uh,” “Yeah,” “Well,” and “So.” Despite what for many would be a limiting script, the cast – expertly guided by their director – crafted a moving emotional exploration of teenage insecurities and triumphs. The show shines most in it’s crescendo, kicked off by incredibly grounded performances from Ty Katzman ‘27 and Julia Salomone ‘25 as “Dunno” and “Fine” in the first major break from the one-line-per-character format, and capped off by a finale that brought the entire cast of characters back on stage for a well earned bookending. The rest of the rock-solid ensemble included Finn Bone ‘27, Aurella Charnick ‘26, Ren Dye ‘27, Lucian Gaddis ‘27, Lyric Haworth ‘27, Juliana Iannetta ‘26, KJ Payne ‘26, Noi Taraschuk ‘27, and Cloud Tola ‘27.
Next in the sequence came Captive Audience (Written by David Ives). Isobel Diprima ‘24 and Sebastien Neale ‘24 play spouses in a strained marriage opposite Milan Gdowski ‘25 and Emi Haas ‘27 as charismatic and eventually sinister TV Anchors. Oli Ruzic’s masterful direction, particularly in pacing, paid off in the form of a show that grabbed your attention and didn’t let go until the very last second. The smallest of the three casts, each performer shined in their multifaceted roles, a particular highlight being Gdowski’s (the only performer in two of the three shows) unnerving wink that brought the story to a close.
The final of the trio, No Horse Town (Written by Lindsay Price), ended the night on a comedic note. Eli Frick’s show exhibited excellent physical comedy, an inventive use of the stage, and a well-oiled-machine of a cast all playing off one another in a laugh out loud ensemble piece full of wild characters with (notably well done) accents to boot. Each actor was given room to stand out amongst the crowd, with their commitment to their roles evident throughout and complementing one another’s performances. Whether it was Holden Buckley’s ‘25 Eugene, the town hero, maintaining his insistence that he did in fact cross the road until the end, or the utter bewilderment of our audience surrogate the “Stranger,” played by Ajak Nakahmi ‘26, it was the reactions of the surrounding characters that drove the punchline home. The rest of the stellar cast was rounded out by Jordan Baumkratz ‘27, Milan Gdowski, Lea Mallon ‘27, Rogan Oakes ‘25, Vivian Thomasset ‘25, Nadia Weinstein ‘27, Darin Williams ‘26.
All in all, Black Box’s triumphant return to form, made possible by the fantastic directors, cast and crew, is yet another example of the commitment and pure talent of BHS’s Troupe 60. Whether you made it to Black Box or not, make sure to check out this year’s Haunted House, to be directed by Ila Parkin ‘24, Kaya Surden ‘25, and Eliana Monahan ‘25, and the rest of Troupe 60’s 23-24 lineup.
