"I really try to do things one thing at a time," said Larry Balfe, the Foster High School theater director who’s preparing his 30th entry in the annual University Interscholastic League one-act play competition.

Balfe isn’t thinking about prior productions, including Foster’s eight-year string of winning district. He isn’t resting on his laurels of twice directing students to a state championship.

Foster High drama teacher Larry Balfe adjusts the wire head piece of sophomore Lauren Schamburg, who portrays a horse in the school’s UIL one-act play entry, Equus. Don Maines photoInstead, he’s focused on readying scenes from Peter Shaffer’s Equus that Foster drama students will perform April 1 at the District 23-4A competition that Foster will host. Competition includes plays from five other schools, including Lamar Consolidated High’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Terry High’s The Song of Bernadette.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. Admission is $2.

Balfe’s success at UIL one-act play competition dates to 1972, his senior year in high school, when he "cut" (adapted by editing) the script of David and Lisa and won best actor as David, in the first four-year graduating class at J. Frank Dobie High School in the Pasadena Independent School District.

David and Lisa, set in a residential treatment center, shares similarities with Equus, which takes place at a psychiatric hospital.

"I had not thought of that," said Balfe. "But both are about troubled teenagers. Both have a psychiatrist as a character.

"Dysart (the psychiatrist in Equus) is definitely the most challenging role in the show," Balfe explained. "It’s really about how he’s lost passion for his work. I explained (to the student actors) what jaded is, but even kids get burned out."

It takes the horrifying case of Alan Strang, a 17-year-old boy who inexplicably blinded six horses, and his treatment of the boy, to jar Dysart into recapturing "what makes him tick," said Balfe.

The 1973 play was a hit in London before its debut on Broadway in 1975, when it won the Tony Award for best play. It’s recently enjoyed a successful revival with Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter movies, playing Alan in London and New York.

A striking aspect of any stage production of Equus is that the six horses are portrayed by actors who wear a wire abstraction of a horse’s head and move with equine grace and power.

The horses’ heads in Foster’s mounting were taken from horse heads in the school’s December musical, Cinderella, with the crew duct-taping them with boning material, then spray-painting them silver, in stark contrast to an otherwise black motif.

"I picked Equus because it’s really theatrical and it has really good roles for actors," said Balfe.

Particularly challenging are the parts of Dysart and Alan, played by seniors Andrew Cabato and Garrett Bell.

Balfe acted professionally in Houston for several years between his successful UIL runs at Eisenhower High School in Aldine Independent School District and Clear Lake High School and his decision to return to teaching, when he came to the Lamar school district 18 years ago.

In 1999, Balfe directed Terry High students to the state finals with their production of Golden Boy. In 2002, after Balfe transferred to Foster High, his students advanced to state with M. Butterfly.

"I do a lot of plays about social issues," said Balfe. "In fact, all the one-acts in this year’s competition are pretty mature. In order to compete, especially in 4A and 5A, you have to do literature. You can’t just do the old boys meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back."

He added that District 23-4A is "very competitive."

"You have to be on your game. You have to be very ready," he said.

In addition to the Fort Bend schools, competition at district will include Alief Kerr, which is performing The Shadow Box, Bay City (Medea) and El Campo (The Rimers of Eldritch).

Balfe’s assistant director on Equus is Foster speech and debate instructor Patrick Ralls.

Contest manager for the April 1 competition is Foster librarian Joan Wiethorn.

Two of the six plays that are presented will advance to area competition, to be held April 9 at Friendswood High School.