‘’Forget them, forget them all. Come with me where you’ll never, never have to worry about grown up things again,’’ said Peter Pan. Never is a bit unlikely, but Lancer Productions’ collection of one acts took us to back to the time where things were simple and relieved our worries in life for just a little while with their charming wit and uproarious jokes.

Lancer Productions is famous for putting on plays filled with powerful and raw emotion. For this year’s Fall Drama, Lancer Productions decided to tackle an assortment of captivating and charming one-act plays for the first production of the school year. Fortunately, the actors showed high levels of passion in their roles and provided a spectacular performance that left audiences emotionally moved and with a sense of joy and inspiration.

Lancer Productions clearly chose to perform these one-acts to highlight the strong skills of its students. The show was performed in SJV’s Little Theater, a small and familiar space with no glitzy sets or ostentatious backdrops. Lancer Productions uses the space well, and beautifully crafted costumes make a huge impression. The plays showcase 20 actors who each play numerous characters, and their performances appeared to enhance as the night carried on.

The series of one-act plays is a clever way to showcase a few performers at a time and their extreme strengths and ranges. Many of the actors do an admirable job conveying information and emotion through their eyes and facial expressions. In the first one-act ‘’The Twelve Dancing Princesses,’’ a king (James Neely) with 12 unmarried daughters attempts to solve the mystery of the shoes. How do the 12 beautiful princesses wear out their shoes night after night when they are firmly locked in a room from which there is no escape? And where do the princes who come to pursue them vanish to? The secret is unraveled by Michael (Michael Rosivack), a determined gardener, with the help of the Old Woman tending to the princesses’ needs personally (Abigail Schories). To “kick-up-your-heels” dancing, Michael learns of the princesses’ secret and secures the hand of the youngest, Princess Sarah (Brigid Minogue).

In his monologue, Michael Rosivack walks onto the stage, his eyes frantic and searching for the answer that leads him to the love of his life. Similarly, both Brigid Minogue and Abigail Schories punctuate their roles with vibrant eyes that speak as loud as their well-delivered lines.

The real star of the night, however, was ‘’I Don’t Want to Talk About it.’’ Being a teenager with the ever-present concerns of adolescence make this one-act hit very close to home. The scene involves only five performers. The main character is ‘’Kyle’’ played by sophomore Peter Debaecke, a miserable teenager who is relentlessly pressured by society. Along with Kyle are four ‘’Actors,’’ who represent many different aspects of Kyle’s life. The Actors are played by senior Amanda Hunt, sophomore Bella Potenziani, junior Amanda Spina, and senior Philip Walsh. With this being Peter’s first lead role, he delivers his lines intensely. His monologues are bursting with anxiety and longing. Also, Amanda Spina continued to astound the audience with her noteworthy acting range. This is perhaps Amanda’s strongest performance to date. Amanda Hunt, Philip Walsh, and Bella Potenziani were able to instantly carry the audience into the plot, showing Kyle’s hopes and dreams for the future, while at the same time, exposing the unsatisfying situation of the present. Furthermore, the harmony between Kyle and each of the Actors is flawless. In some way, they are capable of seizing and presenting a chemistry that contains both severe sorrow and extreme desire.

The last one-act is a less obscure piece called ‘’Boy Meets Girl.’’ A sweet and modest story, this play explores love from the perspective of a couple of five year olds. Time is distorted during childhood; a day can be a grand journey, and a week is infinity. The tiniest gestures can feel so meaningful.

A modest set creates an elementary classroom with large toy blocks. In the ‘’classroom,’’ we meet Sam (James Neely) and Katie (Jenny Lewis), and watch as they fumble their way through an innocent relationship.

Magnifying the quirks of childhood makes for plenty of laugh-worthy material, as you might expect. The actors are child-like in their manner, rocking back and forth proudly, belly out, arms thrashing, fidgety and impatient.

Mostly though, they present themselves more as grown-ups, with mature dialogue, outlining the child-like subject matters with straight faces. The more indirect and casual the delivery, the funnier it is. Off-the-cuff lines like, ‘’it’s a great opportunity’’ highlight the ridiculously laughable tone that the actors project onto the moment.

It’s a light piece, with laughs coming from both clever and silly moments. There are lots of ‘’remember this’’ and ‘’remember that’’ references for any generation. Lancer Productions made the piece immediately relevant for the entire audience.

All of the performers of the SJV Fall Drama, who each have tons of theater experience, have added their own personal flair to the original script, punctuating the highs and lows of diverse emotion, and adding more drama than the original script implied. Lancer Productions kept the production sweet and sentimental, with a little back-handed sarcasm to match. The transitions between one-acts don’t seem to disturb the pace, and simply allow a moment to reflect as they calmly change costumes and glide into a new story with an intriguing essence. The cast does a fine job, being remarkably graceful and sophisticated. We’re invited into the heads of the characters for a moment, and witness a charming and innovative expression of emotion.

The result: Lancer Production’s Fall Drama delivers professional-grade performances by SJV’s own gifted students.