STERLING — The unlikely title of Sterling High School Theatre’s upcoming winter play is “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” which should more aptly be named “30 in 60.” The title has nothing to do with the play itself, which is composed of 30 separate plays to be performed in about 60 minutes. While the show is staged, much is improvised as well. “Too Much Light” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28 in the school’s theater.

“There’s really no message or theme. It’s just a night of fun and laughs,” said Piper Harding, Sterling theater veteran who is directed the ensemble cast of 22. The cast includes seniors Karissa Wilson, Kelsey Webb and Ella Wellman; juniors Zoe Harding, Judah Kuhn, Tim Parish, Sophia Schneider, Micah Svaty and Olivia Kilgore; sophomores Reyna Sanchez, Isabelle Bates, Mason Lockhart, Maddie Fales, Kailynn Hartman, Brayden Higgins and Zain Kately; and freshmen Leland Britton, Sydney Roelfs and Chelsie Brown.  

This is Harding’s sixth show to direct for Sterling High School Theatre.

 “I enjoy seeing the growth in the students from when they start as freshman to their senior year,” Harding said. “This cast has an array of theater experience from some who are on stage for the first time to others who have been on stage for years. Those who have the experience are great role models to those just starting out.”

Harding feels this show is perfect for the Sterling High School students’ busy schedules. “They don’t have as many lines to learn, mostly because the play is short and has a lot of improv. Also, each play stands on its own, which makes it easier to schedule rehearsals around the 22 different schedules,” she said.

“It’s also written in a way that allows new actors to let loose, have fun and be silly without any pressure. Everyone in the show basically gets the same amount of stage time, which is rare in traditional plays,” Harding said.  

“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” has the distinction of being the longest running show in Chicago theater history beginning in 1988. The downtown theater group Neo-Futurists wrote and performed the show through 2016. Greg Allen, the director of the troupe, is credited as playwright. 

“The most challenging part about this play is teaching the cast improv and how to respond depending on what an audience member may say or do,” Harding said. “We have to talk through different scenarios that the actors might face during the improv sections and ‘rehearse’ those scenarios. They also need to be aware that there may be scenarios we didn’t rehearse. We play a lot of improv games during the rehearsal process to also help prepare them and help them find comfort in not knowing what might happen.”

The show has a random quality which can’t really be fully rehearsed. The cast doesn’t know what order they will be doing the plays. Hanging above the stage on a clothesline will be 8 by 11 sheets of paper numbered 1 through 30. A timer will be set for one hour and the audience then starts yelling out numbers. A cast member then jumps up and announces the name of the play listed on the back of the paper. Plays begin with the word “Go!” and end when a member of the cast calls “Curtain!” 

Tickets for the night of theater and improv are $5 for adults and $4 for students and will be available at the door before each performance.