A pair of plays will be presented by Hillcrest Academy students this weekend in Celebration Hall. The middle school students are performing “The Ants and the Grasshopper” and the high school students are presenting “Waking Sleeping Beauty.” The shows are under the direction of Jess Hart and Natalie Silbaugh.

Students gain skills by participating in the theater from acting to set building, Silbaugh explains, “It’s always fun to kind of have a moment where you’re not just yourself, you’re putting on a part of somebody else, and growing in that confidence and speaking in front of people. So that it’s easier when you are perhaps going to an interview or doing any other big presentation.”

Hart adds there will be one four-legged cast member as well, “The last production that we had was Annie. So my dog is a therapy dog of the school and he was involved in that production. And the kids wanted him in this production as well, so he is going to be a fairy dog with wings. And I think that the kids will get a kick out of that. If they came to Annie before and saw a dog in it, they’re going to see a dog in this production as well.” Weasley is an Australian shepherd.

The shows will each run under an hour and will be on stage back to back with an intermission in between. Catch the performances one of three times this weekend including Friday at 7 p.m., or Saturday at 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Hillcrest Academy website.