HERMANN — The Half Act Theatre Company’s performance of Jacquelyn Priskorn’s “The Rot” at the Showboat Theatre last Saturday night was anything but rotten.

“The Rot” is a play about a newly married couple inviting their families to lunch to announce their engagement, and the hilarity that ensues when the future groom’s family discovers that zombies are a fact of life in the suburbs. It contains mild profanity and references to marijuana.

The cast was made up of students participating in Half Act’s high school camp. The kids had eight days to create the set/costumes and learn their lines and blocking. The cast of seven did a fabulous job, especially with so little time to prepare, and the audience laughed out loud throughout the show.

The cast consisted of Clover Welch as Blair, Kenny Collier as Art, Mollie Harrison as Eleanore, Aryana Smith as Bev, Charlie Schutt as Lance, Siena Palladino as Heather, and Kai Kehoe as Zombie Harry. The crew included Director Jo Palisoc, Artistic Director Brenna Jones, Technical Director Asa Borgerding, Lighting Designer Colin Jones, and Camp Staff Justice Kiderlen, Grant Bucher, and Adariana Samuelson.

Half Act Theater Company’s next performance will be “The Sounds of Music” in conjunction with R-S Theatrics out of St. Louis. The cast will feature 50% actors from Hermann with 50% from St. Louis.

“The Sound of Music” runs July 26-28, and Aug. 1-4, 7 p.m. on Thursday and Fridays, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 p.m. on Sundays at the Showboat Theatre, 112 E 4th Street, Hermann. Tickets are $15 per person for Hermann residents and $20 per person for out-of-town visitors, and can be purchased at riversidetheatreproject.com.