“(cut too…

Projection: ALIENS

Projection: VERSUS

Projection: CHEERLEADERS…,”

reads the script of St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s annual MSHSL competition one act, Aliens vs. Cheerleaders. It’s a short action comedy by Gina Nguyen in which a fictional Saint Valley High’s squad of 4, savvy, buff, bossy cheerleaders defends the community from an alien abduction. Though, ultimately, not without the help of hipster Molly (Maggie Vlietstra) and her nerdy, Harry Potter-esque friend Lewis (Drew Faucet).

“Molly has a lot of spunk. I’m excited to say some of her lines,” Vlietstra said. “It’s easy to exaggerate characters though and Molly is really [comparatively] normal. So it’s like hmm, how would a normal teenager, how would I, actually react in this [bizarre] situation.”

One of the more surprising aspects of Aliens vs. Cheerleaders is that its lead, butt-kicking squad defies traditional stereotypes, a unique twist on the popular cheerleading and Mean Girls paradigms. There’s Tina (Maddie Flom-Staab), the squad’s “queen-bee.” Annnddd the captain of Saint Valley High’s championship debate team, president of the “Young Political Leaders of America” club, and Homecoming Queen. There’s Missy (Taylor Rients), a star varsity athlete who crushes cans on her head and is always “in the mood for some danger.” She’s all brawns.

Gabby (Anna Biggs) reads Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” for leisure and does perfect hitch-kicks and round-offs. She’s all brains, “a cool nerd,” Biggs said.  Finally, there’s Lucy (Eva Perez-Greene). She’s missing so many brain cells, though her motor skills make up for it, enabling her to kick alien butt with the best of them.

In addition to weekly rehearsals at the SPA Lower School, the cheer squad and their alien opponents will receive professional fighting instruction at the Minneapolis Uppercut boxing gym in the coming weeks because, as Vlietstra noted, “making the fight scenes believable is the biggest challenge.”

Aliens vs. Cheerleaders has Charley’s Angels (the remake) style combat scenes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer camp, and Bring it On inspired cheer. It’s pure comedy.

UPDATE: The date of the competition has changed from Jan. 20 to Jan. 30.