Review of The College Process

Below is a student-written article featured in the latest issue of The Tie, Saint Joseph Prep Boston's student newspaper.

by Angela Daher ‘24

PHOENIX HALL — This year’s fall play, The College Process, was an amazing production put on by the Phoenix Players on November 18th and 19th. The Phoenix Players did a terrific  job performing two one-act plays: Katie Henry’s “Perfect Score” and Ian McWethy’s “13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview.” 

“Perfect Score” focuses on four soon-to-be high school grads who are struggling through the college application process while dealing with the emotional drama surrounding the fast-approaching and epic turning point in their lives.  “13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview” looks at the college process through the eyes of two desperate college admission recruiters who need to find just one more qualified applicant to fill the freshman class. The Phoenix Players expanded on the original script by portraying 15 ways to screw up your interview.

The show was very successful this year. Many SJP students, faculty, and even some alums who were previously in the Phoenix Players, attended the performances and were supportive of their peers. Both shows were incredibly comedic and had the audience laughing as soon as the curtains opened. 

When asked what her favorite part of performing the play was, Danielle Lionel ‘24 responded, “My favorite part of performing was my monologue in the first act, ‘Perfect Score.’ My character, Hannah, ends up getting locked out of the house because her dad took her key. The scene switches back and forth between her and Jamie, which helped build up the climax of the act. With Hannah, we see her go through a rollercoaster of emotions, including sadness, denial, and anger. Getting the chance to work on such a tough scene like this really helped me grow as an actor.”

Apart from being an entertaining and well-executed production, this was also the first performance in Phoenix Hall since the fall of 2019 due to COVID-19. This made it quite different from all the other shows that the Phoenix Players have participated in at SJP, which were performed remotely or on an outdoor stage. 

Danielle shared, “It was definitely very weird but exciting at the same time. It was weird at first because I have been doing theater for three years here, and now to finally have the chance to perform on stage in my junior year was a bit surreal. But that aside, I was so beyond excited to finally get the chance to perform on the Phoenix Hall stage.”    

The fall play was definitely one that will be remembered! If you happened to miss this one don’t worry, the Phoenix Players will be performing again in the Spring!

Phoenix Players Cast List

Janelle Casanova-DeJesus ’25

Chaewon (Celina) Hwang ’26

Cameron Katz ’25

Danielle Lionel ’24

Alden MacNulty ’26

Samantha Miguel ’26

Ellie Mullen ’25

Daelie Oge ’26

Nayeli Orellana ’24

Ava Ricard ’25

Debora Travassos ’25

Kelly Vo ’26