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North Shore’s upper school students took to the stage May 1 and 2 for An Evening of One-Acts, a high-energy showcase featuring two short plays filled with fast-paced humor, over-the-top characters and unexpected twists.

Directed by Julia Macholl with technical direction from Austin Gruber, the production offered something for everyone — zany comedy, awkward romance and plenty of physical antics — all brought to life by a cast of students who doubled and even tripled up on roles across both plays.

“I always pick our spring play based on the energy of the group, and on Day 1, I knew we had to do a comedy,” Julia said. “We wanted to try two one-act plays this year to give a variety of roles to actors to strengthen their experience on stage and give them the opportunity to play different characters.”

The evening opened with “Check Please” by Jonathan Rand, a witty exploration of the perils of modern dating. Audiences followed a series of blind dinner dates that spiraled from bad to worse, from a kleptomaniac to a grandmother’s bridge partner to a mime. With each scene, the cast kept the audience guessing — and laughing — as they asked whether true connection is even possible amid so many wildly mismatched personalities.

After a brief intermission, students returned to the stage for “Home Shopping Studios Live!” by Claire Epstein, a behind-the-scenes comedy about a live television shopping channel in chaos. Co-hosts Billy Happerly (Will R. ’26) and Diane St. John (Brian S. ’25) found themselves scrambling to sell a bizarre lineup of products — from stuffed animals filled with human hair to live snakes — courtesy of a recently fired producer out for revenge. The ensemble embraced the absurdity, bringing big energy and even bigger laughs to the stage.

“I loved that the actors were able to offer ideas and insight into the blocking and physical comedy — including our favorite tackle in ‘Home Shopping Studios,’” Julia said. “Both performances went extremely well and I am so proud of their risk-taking and hard work.”