courtesy of Montgomery High Drama

The one-act plays latch onto an idea like a dog grasping a bone. And Montgomery High’s Scotland-bound drama students performed them with a go-for-broke zaniness and huge helpings of young talent.

The students, raising funds for their upcoming trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, will perform their series of one-act plays one last time tonight, Saturday July 9, at the school’s performing arts center. These are the same plays the nine actors and one student technician will present next month in Scotland.

Friday’s show included two extra items that put smiles on the audience faces. First, the drama students from nearby Elsie Allen High turned out in support of their thespian brothers and sisters. Those students also are bound for the Fringe festival and they’ve already met their fundraising goal. Second, drama teacher Susane Byrne announced that her students need only $5,000 more to meet their goal. She said a few thousand dollars came in within the past week.

The actors performed a series of David Ives’  one-act plays. The six plays are witty, fast-paced, often ribald and at times outrageous: the very short life and love of two mayflies, the “Soap Opera” about a washing machine repairman who falls in love with his favorite appliance, the multiple do-overs for a man whose pickup lines fall flat with a woman at a cafe. You get the idea.

The drama students showed they have worked hard to polish their performances. They exhibited confidence and comedic timing that milked the material for all it was worth.

Tonight’s final performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students.

As well, the students will perform a murder mystery dinner, “The Spy Who Killed Me,” at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Cattlemen’s restaurant in Montgomery Village. Dinner and the show cost $40. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.

For more information, click here for the Montgomery Drama site.