A play is like a clock; it has many little parts that all need to work together seamlessly. Directed by former Drama teacher Mary Mastandrea and current Drama teacher Mark VanDerzee, “A Series of Fortune Events” advanced to the semi-finals in the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival, a competition between one-act plays created by high schools. The play won awards in the categories for props, acting and sound design. From beginning to end, “A Series of Fortune Events” was a play reliant on the camaraderie of the cast and crew.

The play is set in 2005 at a tech store called “Cinema City.” It follows the main characters Connie (Senior Maya Shavit), Alice (Senior Maya Pontes) and Expo (Junior Mihailo Stevanović) as they receive fortune cookies from a local restaurant and end up traveling through personal fantasies. The play deals with illness, grief and loss as Connie comes to terms with her emotions.

Some decided to take on two roles, such as actor and sophomore Laura Arrújo. Arrújo initially applied to be an actor but decided to join the props team later on in the process.

“I decided that being part of the props team would be really interesting and [it would be] fun to kind of work in tech, so I joined the props team and kind of volunteered myself, and then I loved it,” Arrújo said. “I did not [have prior experience in tech], but I had lots of help from my cast and it was really a team effort.”

Arrújo said, because the props were real, they got support from the cast and crew in acquiring all of the necessary items. They used real food in the production, such as macaroni and cheese, made by one of the directors, as well as white rice, scallion pancakes and the all-important fortune cookies from a local Chinese restaurant.

Shavit said the writing of Connie’s grief over the loss of her mom was an important bonding moment for the cast.

“We had a whole day dedicated to talking about grief. That conversation got very raw because everyone has something to say about grieving a loved one,” Shavit said.

Sophomore performer Allen Burlak said the editing process was long but overall a nice experience in collaboration.

“We started out with a bunch of improv scenes; it was a very fun experience. We just went with stuff and then we went from rehearsal to rehearsal, trying to come up with characters and trying to come up with locations,” Burlak said. “From the improv, we then began scripting the scenes, and the scripted scenes were super fun.”

VanDerzee said the process of making the production was a unique learning experience for the students.

“The script is always changing,” VanDerzee said. “What’s awesome about the process of owning that piece is that the students were really great, receptive to the feedback and receptive to the changes,” VanDerzee said.

Shavit said the play was completely different from the previous productions she has been involved in.

“It really is all about working together and incorporating everyone’s work,” Shavit said. “It’s a culmination of so many people’s effort and personal experience and vulnerability.”

Shavit won the award for acting in both the preliminary round and semi-finals. Shavit said winning an award for her excellence in acting felt bittersweet the second time around.

“During the semi-final round, I was really hoping that more people in the ensemble would get credited for the work they did, and that’s much harder because they just give out less awards,” Shavit said.

Sophomore Harllen Riyah Orofino, who was responsible for sound design, said the audio required a lot of collaboration with the directors and actors.

“I watch the actors play their characters, and see how their character acts and what would make sense for this character, what would make sense for this scene overall,” Orofino said.

Orofino said time constraints played a part in sound design choices.

“Even small things, like the doorbell for the shop, makes it feel more like a place almost, it makes it seem more real,” Orofino said.

VanDerzee said having a production that is created brings invaluable lessons to the cast and showcases their true potential.

“I think when you’re making something with somebody, there’s a lot of trust that is asked of you,” VanDerzee said. “And, because that trust is asked of everybody, I think it allows students the opportunity to be vulnerable in putting themselves out there in terms of their ideas.”