“Days You Can Use,” an original play written by Jefferson High School Theater Director Mike Hesford, was staged by JHS students from May 30 to June 1 as the drama program’s final show of the year. Presented through nine short interconnected scenes, “Days You Can Use,” set in 1994, is a kaleidoscopic, heartfelt, and riotously well written examination of life before cell phones and wide-spread internet access.
“I don’t think it was a better time, necessarily. Just very different, and the show is meant to shed light on how we used to live,” said Hesford.
“Days You Can Use,” the third original work Hesford has staged at JHS, was first produced in 2020, when the now seniors were freshman and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new staging, JHS graduating senior Addy Leary reprised her role as a young woman unable to connect with someone due to a phone number being written on damaged paper.
“Now that I’ve gained some confidence, it’s fun to be playing the same role again,” said Leary. “It gives me a clear mark as to how much I’ve grown, and is a pretty fitting way to leave JHS.”
The play itself is a love letter to the 90s, and a tongue-in-cheek pastiche of the decade’s most familiar sitcoms and story forms. It deploys “Malcolm In the Middle”-esque soliloquies and “Friends”-like situational comedy to both critique and highlight life in a now forgotten era. Hesford uses humor and nostalgia to pose serious questions about modern socialization, gender relations, social politics, and our relationship to technology. Many of his characters express an optimism about technological progress that in retrospect is almost painful to engage with, given the complexity and totality of the hold it turns out to have taken on modern life.
For example, one scene, set in a video rental store, involves a detailed and passionate exchange between two employees about popular films. Hesford uses the scene to remind us that, before the proliferation of online-streaming services, film and television weren’t, for some, digested casually. Conversations about pop culture couldn’t be easily fact-checked with a quick internet search, and deep knowledge of it was more a personality trait than an easily-cultivated hobby.
“Days You Can Use” is peppered with such poignant, endearing, funny moments, and was delivered by an extremely well-coached amateur student cast. “Have you ever seen ‘Whiplash’?” asked 2024 JHS graduate Jack Johnson, jokingly. “That’s how I’d describe the creative environment here.”
“[Hesford] is a unique, funny, kind man and it was such a gift to be a part of his program,” said Clara Genger, another 2024 grad “I thought he was a bit scary at first, but actually he’s just wonderful.”
Hesford, who has now completed his 24th year at JHS, added new scenes to his original script in order to create space for more students to meaningfully participate in the production.
“It’s tough to find a way back on stage after graduating,” said Hesford. “For some of the seniors, this will be their last time. We try to make sure to get everyone in beyond being a tree. They’re a really solid bunch, and I’ve loved working with them.”
This year, the JHS theater program also staged “Steel Magnolias” and “The Odd Couple”, which Hesford describes as particularly difficult pieces for young actors. “These guys want steak, not candy,” he said. “We’ve done some really challenging plays together, and I’m really quite proud of them.”
