(ABC 6 News) – Mayo High School students took first place in the One Act competition, earning a first place vote from all three judges.

Now, the team will move on to the section championships at Kasson Mantorville’s Wifi Performing Arts Center on Thursday Feb. 1.

If Mayo’s One Act team wins on Thursday, they will make their return to the state championships.

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Students at Mayo High School on Thursday are taking center stage.

Students with the One Act program want to return to state, and they’re hard at work to make that happen.

When they start their day, some know they’re up against the clock.

“You have ten minutes to setup your stage, to produce your show, learn someone else’s tech, and run the shows as seamlessly as you can,” Kim Hill, competitive one act play director for Mayo High School said.

When they’re on stage, they know anything is possible, even if your main character has a lot of baggage.

“He’s stuck, he has a messy apartment, he’s lonely, he has a dead end job,” Rocco Ruggeri, senior at Mayo High School said.

Rocco plays a writer, in the play he deals with writers block.

He’s trying to find a happy ending but the character he portrays has voices in his head.

“The truth is if he doesn’t write a story I go away. He doesn’t want me to be here, he doesn’t want those voices in his head,” Maeva Djossou, sophomore at Mayo High School said.

Sounds like a scary story! Kim agrees.

“All of the stories that are in his head that are trying to seek that happy ending are embodied because he’s brought that into his life,” Hill said.

Rocco, like many high schoolers, were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He delivered a performance over Zoom.

As the years progressed, his cast became family.

“It was the only chance I had to be social with my friends, it made me stay sane,” Ruggeri said.

Maeva is a newcomer to One Act and she’s ready to break a leg.

“I feel very confident with the show. Being able to have this community, it’s a wonderful place to be,” Djossou said.

And that sense of community is unbreakable.

“The arts are alive and flourishing,” Hill said.

If you would like to see the students perform, you can see them on Saturday and Sunday at Mayo High School. Tickets are free.

You’re also welcome to cheer them on in the subsection competition on Thursday. That performance is at 6:15 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Kasson-Mantorville High School.