November 12, 2026, by Jen Ransom for the Seward Folly

Grueling evenings are a hallmark the week before opening night, and the work put into the newest production of Seward Middle/High School Theater Collective (STC) is no exception.

“The House of White Roses,” an original play by high school senior Lukas Scott, promises to be a production no one, literally, has seen before – and comes with a riveting script, new leadership, and a large cast of seasoned and fresh actors.

Budding playwright Lukas Scott with his mentor, Seward Middle/High School math teacher and alumnus Joel Williams. AJ Groom prepares her role as Charles Deluca. Photos by Jen Ransom

Adell “AJ” Groom, a long-time STC actor, is impressed with the work Scott put into creating an original play.

“The script is very smartly created and it is very clear that Lukas put his heart and sweat and tears into it,” said Groom on Tuesday. “This play is a lot different [from previous productions] because Lukas has a different directing method.”

Scott, who moved to Seward from California in the fall of 2025 and acted in STC’s production of “The Outsiders” last spring, is not a stranger to writing and directing, but all of his previous work has been in film, not live theater.

“It started off with me wanting to be a YouTuber [in seventh grade], and I’d spend eight hours a day editing silly little videos. Then it turned into writing [YouTube] scripts – I wanted a story, not just a video,” said Scott, who has since written and produced eight films and wrote the “White Roses” script in about two months, often working at it for six hours a day.

“The main story takes place in Las Vegas in the 1970s… with the last standing mob family and how they crumble down until they are completely broken.”

Scott first approached STC advisor Joel Williams last spring about his aspirations of writing and directing a play for this fall.

“I said, ‘Sure, if you show me a script by August,’ not thinking he would actually have done it,” Williams said, chuckling. “But he did. I’m so excited, and I’m so proud. Lukas did an amazing job.”

Scott is equally impressed with Williams’ hands-off approach, letting him and his co-director, senior Ava Gunter, use these past nine weeks to create a unique show.

“The most exciting part has most definitely been my relationship with Mr. Williams,” explained Scott. “Mr. Williams is a very mature, busy adult. Well, maybe not the ‘mature’ part [chuckle]. But he’s a very busy, productive man, and when I first met with him [this fall], I was very confused. He was kind of in his own world, and left me to it. But the more busy I got with this production, the more that level of maturity, productivity and persistence is happening in me. I’m morphing into Joel! That’s been the most exciting part, to realize my change and growth.”

“The hardest thing, though, was definitely the script writing. You have to write something that people have to accept,” explained Scott, emphasizing that it’s a very personal endeavor. “With sets, no matter what you put on them, some people will say, ‘Oh, cool set.’ Or if you have a good actor, some people will say, ‘Oh, cool actor.’ But with a script that has never been done before, there is a lot of pressure on the script itself.”

Of course, it’s taken a whole team of student leaders to help Scott’s vision come to life. While there are still last-minute changes needed to be ready for Friday’s opening night, Gunter feels confident that the team will be ready.

“I am kind of nervous because it’s been a lot of work putting together this show,” said Gunter. “It’s a play that’s never been done before, which adds on a lot more behind-the-scenes work. I just hope that people experience it the way we see the vision.”

In charge of much of that backstage work was senior Raegan Hillestad, who joined the STC leadership team as a first-timer to drama.

Co-director Ava Gunter applies stage makeup to Hank, played by Chase Johnson. Backstage manager Raegan Hillestad (in black) prepares the crew for dress rehearsal.

Photos by Jen Ransom

“Honestly, I did not know anything; I had never even seen the backstage,” laughed Raegan, who is the backstage manager and an assistant director. “But I have seen all the plays they have put on and all my friends are a part of it, so I knew what kind of dedication it was going to take – the kind of time it was going to take out of my day. They needed help, and I said, ‘I can manage people, I can organize things, put me where you need me!’”

“There are still a few kinks backstage, and the transitions take a lot of time,” continued Hillestad. “I’m nervous for opening night, but I have faith. We can do it.”

Assistant director and stage manager Amara Ransom, also a senior and a long-time STC actor, filled in several roles for this production. Her leadership role is unique in that she is also preparing to be up on stage Friday night.

“I’m really excited as an actor to get on stage, but still be able to do all these amazing roles to help out Lukas, Ava, and Raegan,” said Ransom, who designed most of the costumes and helped teach many of the new STC actors skills such as voice projection and staging. “I still wanted to be on stage, because that is what I fell in love with when I started theater.”

Senior Axel LaRock is also excited to be on stage, joining Hillestad as a first-time STC member.

“Students need to be able to express themselves creatively,” said LaRock when describing why he chose to become a part of Scott’s dream as mob boss Alessio Cardo, a cold and stoic character. “There is so much great character development. [I got to] work with Lukas for the character analysis to prepare, and now I just kind of flip him [Alessio] on and get to be him on stage.”

Traditionally, the last week before a production opens starts with “light night,” where the directors and actors slowly and painfully work line through line with the light booth crew. Nash Bamford sat at the light board into the wee hours Friday night, bringing the lights to life. It’s been a different experience than the other plays he has been a part of.

“I would say this play is more transition heavy than any of the other shows we have done,” said Bamford, a high school junior. “There is less emphasis on sound effects, and more on blackouts and music during the blackouts.”

Eighth-grader Inara Flowers readies herself up in the light booth. Actors in the green room. Photos by Jen Ransom

Given that many of the “White Roses” actors are younger middle and high school students, the later nights this week have been hard for some. The leadership team has been putting in 15-hour days, and the actors and backstage crew worked all weekend and have been going from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. this school week. Bamford said that parents and older students have kept everyone well fed in the green room, with meal drop-offs and lots of snacks from Safeway.

“We’ve had some pizza and sliders; there are always snacks around,” laughed Bamford. “There is some sugar there [in the green room], but we have the good stuff up here.”

With just one more night left to wrap up the last-minute adjustments before opening night this Friday at 6 p.m., Scott and the rest of the STC crew are excited to give the community of Seward the opportunity to be the first audience of “The House of White Roses,” an original drama surrounding the theme of love, and how it only takes one life to change an entire family.

Poster created by senior Chloe Lyon