As the noise of shattered glass filled the Craft Theater, Ronan Laporte dashed offstage to make his entrance on time. The sound effect signaled his upcoming line and gave Laporte the cue to leave the audience and start the show. Members of the show, including Laporte, had been working vigorously to produce the performance. “Krisis,” a play co-written by Autumn Klus-Salisbury and Ronan Laporte, was performed from May 7-9, 2026.
“Krisis” follows three teens as they navigate personal challenges and the ups and downs of adolescence. The three main characters include Virtue, a performer struggling to find her identity; Richard, an academically intense student with a difficult relationship with his father; and Robyn, an artist grappling with a tragedy that changes her philosophy of life.
“Krisis” is unique not only for being student-written but also because of its small cast size. Besides Virtue, Richard and Robyn, there is only the teacher, Mr. Atlas, and various unnamed family members. The small cast size also offered something new for all of the actors, as they were able to connect and identify more with their characters. As CHS’s Community Ensemble Theater (CET) shows normally have upwards of 50 people in the cast and crew, “Krisis” allowed the actors more time in the spotlight.
“You’re really paying attention to one person who is telling you who they are and what they believe in,” Jules Gates, who plays Richard, said. “It’s much easier to connect to because you have so much more of a grounded perspective on the character.”
One character in particular, Robyn, is portrayed by Rosie Matish. Matish feels connected to her character because they share similar interests and hobbies. Matish never had the chance to play a major role and found it enjoyable to dive into what her character was feeling in a given moment.
“[Robyn’s] a painter. She’s very art-driven, and she’s very whimsical, and has a very close relationship with her aunt,” Matish said. “She has some big changes in the show that make her question what the meaning of life and the people around her is.”
Klus-Salisbury and Laporte came up with the idea for the play after getting to know each other on a trip to Greece last summer. As directors and writers of the show, the duo started to draft the script throughout the rest of the summer and began to edit and finalize the script starting in the first semester.
The casting process, done throughout CET’s fall and spring shows, was a combination of actors that stood out to Laporte and Klus-Salisbury. Each member of the cast was either sent an email or asked about whether or not they would like to be a part of Laporte and Klus-Salisbury’s senior project.
Stella Vorlicek recalls the shock that she experienced upon being asked to be a part of the show.
“[Laporte] came to me after Fahrenheit 451, when I was in the prop room, and just told me that he wanted me to be a part of the show that him and [Klus-Salisbury] were working on,” Vorlicek said. “Internally, I was freaking out because I was being invited to do something. And it was really insane, just incredible being a new student and being able to be a part of this.”
After finishing his first major acting role, playing the antagonist Franklin Hart Jr. in CET’s “9 to 5,” Gates was also contacted by Laporte for the show. Gates worked as a crew member and assistant stage manager for CET during his freshman and sophomore years, but never acted because he didn’t want to sing on stage. However, after taking a short break from the theater, Gates realized that he needed to face his fears and try acting. In “Krisis,” Gates found his character Richard to be more enjoyable to play due to feeling more connected with his role.
“This character is so much deeper [than Franklin Hart Jr.], and I have to reach really deep to find it,” Gates said. “I think it’s honestly a better display of my acting ability, because I can dig deeper and find more real moments.”
The last word of the play is about identity, reflecting on themselves and who they truly want to be. The line “Who are you?” was repeated several times throughout the show, printed on the back of the program and even out in the hall, inviting audience members to answer the question on a sheet of paper. The characters are constantly questioning life, who they think of themselves and if others really know them.
“It’s a big final message of accepting change, working through it and realizing the fact that nothing is stationary,” Matish said. “And finding the beauty in that, finding beauty in life and death, and in sadness as well as happiness, and connection and identity.”
With the play coming to an end, so is Laporte’s and Klus-Salisbury’s senior year. The pair is flooded with emotions after finishing their senior project, and they both plan to continue being part of theater.
“It feels absolutely incredible. It’s a massive, satisfying conclusion to so many months of writing and directing and acting,” Laporte said. “It’s so much more than I could ever ask for. And the actors and the crew, they’ve made it this impossibly wonderful show. So glad to be a part of it.”
