The idea for a student-written play came once again to seniors Owen Parker and Samara Samad after their first successful debut of “The Production” in February 2020. 

Parker and Samad’s second play, “The Squeekwall,” is a sequel to the “crazy universe of [their] first play.”

“[The Squeekwall] is a play on words, combining the words squeak and sequel,” said Samad. “We named it this to give the play a sense of foreshadowing and a bit of mystery.”

Much like last year, the play is loosely based upon the popular book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid, written by Jeff Kinney.

“The story isn’t directly related [to the series], but the characters are based on the iconic ones from [the books],” stated Parker.

Both Parker and Samad enjoyed the style of the book series, especially the coming of age aspects and the crazy antics of the characters. 

“This play’s content will be brand new, with a ‘whodunnit’ aspect that’ll have the viewers on the edge of their seats,” said Samad. 

“[When they heard we were writing another play,] the teachers were really excited,” both Parker and Samad mentioned. “Ms. Dover was even asking when we were planning the play and when the next one would be.”

“This year, in addition to the original cast, Mr. Darnell and Mr. Goodroe will be entering the group with two new roles,” said Parker. 

The playwrights have a mission for their play to perform within the first few weeks of May. 

“Teachers have commitments as coaches [during the spring seasons], so we wanted to make sure that everyone could be there,” stated Samad. 

The writers are currently deciding whether to perform the play in person or to stream it virtually, due to the pandemic. 

“Fingers crossed, [the pandemic] will get better, and we’ll be able to host it in person, but we’ll see,” said Parker. 

“We are trying our hardest to broadcast the play into the celebrity world, and we have a list of our top picks,” said Samad. Their list ranges from singer and actress Jojo Siwa to each member of the Saturday Night Live cast. 

“It would be great if we were able to stream it and send it to them,” said Parker. “We’re hoping to also send it to Fred Armisen who heard about our first play when we messaged him.”

“[During “The Production”], writing wasn’t hard,” remembered Parker. “It was collaborative and a smooth process, so it all came easily. It’s still the same way [when writing “The Squeekwall”]. We’re still on the same page, and from there, the ideas flow.”

“We have an idea of how we want the play to go,” added Samad. “We write what we think is funny, and it comes naturally. It feels more like fun than hard work because we’re doing this for ourselves and not for an assignment.”

“There are two things that I’ve loved throughout this entire process, said Samad. “Writing together is so much fun and also talking to the teachers about it.”

“Talking with Samara, filling the story with weird things, and seeing a different side of the teachers has been fun,” stated Parker. “They put so much effort into [the play]. I wasn’t sure of it at first, but they were so dedicated.”

When asked for three adjectives or phrases  that would best describe their second play, Samad described their second endeavor as “mysterious, [full of] good chaos, and exciting.”

Parker added that the play will be “mysterious, thrilling, and an iconic experience you can’t get at another school play or anywhere else.”

The support and encouragement from the playwrights’ first play encourages them more than ever to continue their writing process and release “The Squeekwall” in the near future.