Every spring students embark on the challenging, at times stressful, experience of acting or directing a Student Directed Play. Completely organized and executed by student directors, the program takes place over a couple weeks in April. During these weeks of auditions, direction, rehearsals, tech rehearsals, and performances are all under way, organized chiefly by a handful of directors, each with their own short plays, actors, and schedule.
In fact, the entire production must be planned in only six one hour rehearsals. While this may sound like a lot to handle, senior director Sydney Ethen reflects: “If you have a good group of people and everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to, it’s really easy.” Ethen is directing ‘Universal Language,’ a tale about a man inventing his own language.
Expectedly, most of the play takes place in gibberish. When asked about her experience stepping into the director’s role, Sydney added, “It was a really natural thing for me, but I know for other directors it’s really hard, who have a background in acting, it’s a really different mindset to go in, we don’t usually get to reach into the directing scene.”
For Henry Roach ‘19, the student directed plays are a refreshing contrast to the fall musical and spring play where “essentially all the thinking is done for you.” In addition to the time management skills necessary to execute such a big undertaking, actors and directors alike must deal with the dynamic of student directing student, which can be both fun and intimidating.
