Senior Elizabeth White has been preparing to perform the one act play, Waiting In Grace. The play is going to be the first one act play written and performed by a Deep Run student. White’s inspiration came from her experience in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) this past summer. She developed the characters based on the emotions she felt.

“ This play follows many characters and their stories of hope, love, loss, and healing.” White said.

The story line puts the characters in traumatic situations where someone they know has passed or has a deadly illness.

“It chronicles three main characters: the pessimistic Anna, whose family struggles with her grandfather’s illness; Mason, whose brother has cancer; and Devon, whose girlfriend got into a car accident,” White said.

Throughout the story, they learn to overcome the sadness they felt for their loved ones. Also, they learn that they need to have empathy for ones they have lost instead of mourning.

Her experience in the ICU greatly influenced the story line of the play. She could not help but wonder what her grandfather, who was in cardiac arrest, was going through. She thought about how he was in the same room for hours and couldn’t do anything about it.

White always wanted to write a play, and the VHSL (Virginia High School League) competition was that opportunity to do so.

“We rehearse the play every day during class, and it has been a team effort for us all to get to a point where we can perform the play. During the writing process, I would have a random idea for a scene and a monologue, and I would just run to my room quickly and make a note so that I could remember it,” White said.

She tweaked and revised constantly until the monologue sounded exactly as she wanted it. White worked very hard to get the play to perfection leading up to the performance on Jan. 29.