About Black Box Film 2021

For the first time in PCA's history, the PCA Players will be presenting their winter Black Box performance in the form of a Dine-In Movie! 

Students, faculty, and film professionals have teamed up to re-format 2, 1-act stage shows for film, allowing each and every cast and crew member to participate despite health concerns or quarantine status. To preserve the live-theatre experience and give audiences an opportunity to enjoy a safe, health-conscious outing, our very own Black Box cast will be hosting a Dine-In Movie screening for 3 nights in Troiano Hall. Guests will be seated at candle-lit tables and served favorite movie treats by a cast of characters, dressed in costume and fully committed to their Black Box roles!  This unique event will allow friends and family to experience our cast members' improvisational acting skills, character development, and more!  After the film, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions to our cast about their characters, the filming process, and more! Streaming tickets will also be available for audiences to view in their "home theatres." 


About the Shows:

The PCA Junior High Players present: The Internet is Distract - Oh, Look a Kitten!, written by Ian McWethy and directed by Melissa Weisberg. In this relevant satire, a young millennial student named Micah, only has twenty minutes to finish her paper on The Great Gatsby. She just needs to check a few facts on the internet first. Unfortunately, the web is a nefariously wacky place where boxing cats, Facebook lurkers, and pig-throwing games threaten to take over Micah's schoolwork, or worse. Will she finish her paper and escape with her life before the school bell rings? This high-octane comedy explores the rabbit hole of distraction we all go down everytime we go online.

The PCA Upper School Players present: Oz, written by Don Zolidis and directed by 11th grade student, Abigail Eisner. Reeling from her sister's death, Beth suddenly finds herself journeying through a world suspiciously resembling that of The Wizard of Oz. However, with the yellow brick road sold to foreign investors after a financial meltdown, the Scarecrow reveling in his ignorant bliss, the Cowardly Lion acting like a paranoid sociopath, and the Tin Man embracing his emotional numbness, Beth wonders what role she plays in this classic story gone awry. Oz offers a hilarious and heart-wrenching exploration of grief, and perseverance on the road to acceptance.

The Internet is Distract- and Oz are produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (​www.playscripts.com).

Portsmouth Christian Academy Theatre

At PCA, you will find a God-centered theatre program where students explore concepts through a Christian worldview. They pray together and seek to glorify God through both time and talent. Skills developed are life skills: teamwork, memorization, public speaking, analyzing literature and learning technical skills. Students grow in perseverance, discipline and self-esteem as they learn how to act, design, and run all aspects of a production. Students work in community with other students and family members, resulting in productions they are proud of, and that bless the wider community. For musicals, PCA musicians are often involved in the pit orchestra as well as on stage.

PCA typically hosts three productions each year: a fall show with actors in grades 4-8, a winter Black Box show for high school students, and a spring musical for students in grades 6-12. Recent shows include: Guys and Dolls, Mary Poppins, Secret Garden, A Shayna Maidel, Tracks, and Honk Jr.

We welcome you to keep up with PCA theatre on our website, on social media, and by joining our email list! To receive the most recent updates about PCA performances, please email [email protected] to be added to the list.