"Hell Week" from "A High School Theatre Major's Guide to Macbeth".
Imagine a world where a High School’s drama, choir, and band departments would all have to collaborate to put on a show, complete with rehearsals, a tech run, and a full weekend of performances. For those of you who are performers, it likely took you about three seconds to realize why that’s a terrible idea. And yet, it’s an incredibly entertaining train wreck you can’t look away from.
Our story takes place in which a High School must do just that: collaboration between all three performing arts, and putting on a musical rendition of “Macbeth” no less.(#2 Tech Day) Luna finds herself moving to this school the Fall before they put on this cluster of a production, quickly befriending Sky, and shortly after, Jackie. (#3 Start the Show) Sky and Jackie end up getting together, whereas Luna felt that she was the one Sky wanted to be with. Jackie, being aware of this, attempts to drive a wedge between Sky and Luna, spreading lies, sht-posting, and being generally toxic. This is the main conflict of the show, in which we have a self-perpetuated love triangle as the room falls apart around them.
Struggling to keep the show afloat, we have our three teachers, who absolutely cannot agree on how to run rehearsals. Mr. Gardner rules the band with an iron fist and leaves the kids terrified of rehearsal. Mr. Stinger runs his choir commendably, and is simply counting the minutes to escape each rehearsal. Ms. Meyers lovingly directs the drama students, and tries to stay positive amidst the chaos. (#4 Auditions)
As the love triangle grows more and more volatile throughout the rehearsal process, we see a vulnerable moment between Luna and her mom, in which her mom tells her that boys are dumb and probably not worth her time, but that ultimately everything will work out. (#5 Answers) The next day, we see the release of the cast-list, which leads to more tension, as Jackie and Luna have been double-cast as Sky’s love interest. (#6 Cast-List Chaos) In a similar juxtaposition, we get to see an introspective moment of Jackie at Prom, where we see Sky isn’t exactly the nice guy he’s been made out to be. (#7 Trophy) They have a massive fight, and Sky ends up spending the night at Luna’s, and they presumably sleep together. After realizing what they’ve done, they go to school the next day in a paranoid frenzy. Jackie slowly pieces together what happened between them, and they are left alone at a blocking rehearsal after school. (#8 Time) During this rehearsal, Jackie reveals that she feels Luna is just manipulating Sky, and she does not know they slept together. Sky goes home that night, wondering who to choose to be with, and ultimately decides on Luna. He calls Jackie and tells her that they’re through, and Jackie is unequivocally pissed. (#9 I Need You) End of act 1.
Jackie is removed from the show for having failing grades, and on her way out, she releases a series of shit-posts to mess with Sky and Luna. (#10 Impending Doom) The next day, we see the chaos of the second day of tech-week, and how everything and everyone is falling apart at the seams. (#11 Hell Week) We hop back to see the specifics of Jackie’s shit-posts, and how quickly the rumors spread and are given a life of their own, very quickly devolving into much much worse than what Jackie said. (#12 Wildfire). Sky and Luna are confronted about these posts and nearly kicked out of the show, and we learn that Luna is moving away the day after closing night performance. After opening night, she is assailed by some members of the cast, and she talks about how ready she is to leave everything behind. (#13 Out Damn Spot) On closing night performance, Sky overhears Luna talking about the moving truck coming the following morning. He fights with her, and she ultimately leaves him without many parting words. He feels lost, defeated, and unsure of what to do. (#14 Stories in Your Eyes) From here, we time jump ahead to see the school in its last few days before graduation. (#15 Get This Show on the Road) We see Sky’s social life has stalled out, and he has a moment of reconciliation with Jackie, and some of the other students. We then see their graduation ceremony, where the students can’t wait to take on this whole new world. (#16 Finale)