Cappies. Required. One. Word. Speeches.

Intriguing.

That's the single word to describe the one-word acceptance speeches required Sunday night at the annual Cappies awards. In many cases, brevity was the soul of wit.

The Cappies, short for the Critics and Awards Program, trains high school theater and journalism students as critics. The student critics attend shows at other schools and write theater reviews, which then are published in local news outlets. At Sunday night's Cappies Awards Gala, the award winners stepped up to the stage to receive their accolades.

The one-word speeches were a novelty that kept the show moving along. It also provided inventive students an opportunity to mystify the audience with their cryptic one liners. Here's a selection of the one-word speeches as well as the winner's high school and award received:

Family
"Mommy" -- Zach Erhart, Nerinx Hall, Featured Actor in a Musical
"Dad" -- Claire Zimmerman, Notre Dame High School, Supporting Actress in a Play
"Parents" -- Alex Prakken, Nerinx Hall, Lead Actor in a Musical, as he blew a kiss to the audience

Missing
"Absent" -- Maura Madinger, Parkway Central High School, Sound
"Absent" -- Parkway Central, Orchestra
"Absent" -- Mara Lesser, Parkway Central, Female Dancer
"Absent" -- Elyse Bertani, Rockwood Summit High School, Returning Critic
"Rapture" -- Andrew Buell, Ryan Biggs, Chloe Buckman and Nico Stringfellow, Holt High School, Stage Crew, an apparent reference to the end-of-the-world prediction that was in the news Saturday

Apologetic
"Sorry" -- Mariah Garcia, Notre Dame, Lead Actress in a Musical

Head-scratchers
"Madea" -- Lily Cella, Nealey Wallis, MICDS, Make-Up
"Spaghetti" -- Kevin Hayes, Northwest High School, Choreography
"Enema" -- Joe Konroy, Bishop DuBourg High School, Comic Actor in a Play
"Forty" -- Kassandra King, Francis Howell High School, Graduating Critic
"Butch" -- Leading Ladies, Parkway Central, Play
"Lacrosse" -- Joe Essig, Nerinx Hall, Supporting Actor in a Musical
"Shenanigans" -- Hattie Smith, MICDS, Lead Actress in a Play

Possessive
"Mine" -- David Kirkman, Alec Swierk, McCluer High School, Creativity, as they went up together, both holding the award

Theatrical
"Le Figaro" -- Brandon Callahan, Holt, Featured Actor in a Play
"Marmee" -- Michelle Aschenbrenner, Notre Dame, Featured Actress in a Play, a reference to a character in Little Women.
"Superstar" -- P.J. Palmer, Marquette High School, Male Vocalist.
"Barricade" -- Caroline Amos, Nerinx Hall, Supporting Actress in a Musical, a reference to the barricades in the play Les Miserables.
"Drag" -- Michael Price, Parkway Central, Lead Actor in a Play, a reference to his cross-dressing scam artists character.

Sharing
"Benjamin" -- Allie Luecke, Nerinx Hall, Comic Actress in a Musical, a reference to costar Ben Weber.
"Allison" -- Ben Weber, Nerinx Hall, Comic Actor in a Musical, a returning the favor in a reference to co-star Allison Luecke.

Mini-roar
"Meow" -- Alex Green, Austin Jones, Matt Perry, Marquette, Ensemble in a Play.

Disbelief
"Really?" -- Critic Team, Rockwood Summit.

Celebration
"Woo-hoo!" -- Amanda Jerry, Nerinx Hall, Female Vocalist.