Rise

- Season 1

(2018)

In the premiere, Lou petitions to take over as director of the theater program in an attempt to revitalize his passion for teaching, but quickly realizes he has his work cut out for him. His controversial decision to change the musical to the more provocative "Spring Awakening" and his atypical casting choices create a ripple effect for the program's assistant director Tracey Wolfe. the school's football coach Sam Strickland, and the students in the show.

Lou is brought down to earth when his production budget is slashed, Coach Strickland vindictively monopolizes Robbie's time, and he has a conflict with Tracey. Lilette finds herself starting to fall for Robbie, while Simon contends with conflicting feelings about his role in the show. As Michael finds support within the theater troupe, Gwen acts out in rehearsals in response to tensions at home.

Tracey questions Lou's vision for the show and is stunned by Simon's news. Coach Strickland attempts to rehab Gordy. Lilette struggles to contain her feelings for Robbie.

Robbie's two worlds collide at a house party as his football friends square off against his drama troupe. Tracey explores a relationship from a not-so-secret admirer.

The production hits another obstacle concerning the actual performance, something that Tracey was aware of but hits Lou by surprise. Maashous believes he has at least a partial solution, but what Lou decides to do to improve the situation may have the opposite effect in he not fully comprehending all the pieces in play. Something else that is affecting the production is Robbie and Lilette's off stage relationship, which is reflected in how they interact with each other on stage. Meanwhile, Lou and Gail have to decide what to do about Gordy, especially after he stays ...

It's three weeks until opening night. From a scale model he's asked Maashous to build, Lou has designed his dream set - a mix of old Germany with modern day Stanton, it meant to bring the Stanton audience into the experience - he determined to have it built despite the obstacles. This is only the latest of a series of obstacles as Vanessa's actions at the diner have had a ripple effect on Lilette, which in turn has had a ripple effect on the logistics of rehearsals. Vanessa does not comprehend the emotional aspect of what her dealing with the aftermath is having on ...

It's technical week and both Lou and Tracey are happy with the production at this stage of the process, although Lou, having never gone through technical run-throughs, is overly optimistic that there will be a minimal number of issues. Beyond those technical issues which number more than Lou could have even imagined, he finds that other things are happening to the cast negatively affecting what happens on stage, the backgrounds of which he may not be fully aware. In using the tactic suggested by Lou to deal with the matter, Robbie is benched by Coach Strickland. Not ...

An unauthorized video posted online promoting the show - the video which misrepresents the show in that it shows provocative images from the rehearsals - has mixed results. While ticket sales spike, Lou and Tracey believing by now interested students, opponents to the show begin to mobilize to do whatever they can to stop the show from making it to opening night. This opposition affects the dynamics of one family in particular. If the production does make it to opening night, Lou and Tracey know they have to do something for Robbie to get his mojo back. What Lou ...

With three days until opening night, Lou and Tracey work through the show's changes demanded by Principal Ward and the PTA, with Lou and Principal Ward's jobs on the line. The changes are meant to sanitize the show, removing anything that could be deemed even remotely offensive, such as swear words, and any direct mention of topics that are controversial, like teen pregnancy, abortion, rape, incest, homosexuality and overt sexuality. Lou is however unaware of the full extent of the backroom discussion between Evan and Tracey, and thus Tracey's response to that ...

As the final episode of the season, during the opening night of Stanton Drama's Spring Awakening, personal crises percolate between the students.