On Feb. 25, in the Media Center at MSHS, seven student directed plays will be put on for classes to watch. MSHS has put on student directed plays in the past depending on the students in the PPSC Theater class, and what they’d like to focus on in the fall in that class.
In the fall semester of 2008, Abby Steen, who is now a choir teacher at MSHS, requested to direct her own play in her theater class during her senior year of high school, bringing about the first MSHS student directed play. Wendy Harms, the current and former Theater Arts instructor, encouraged Steen to direct all those years ago, and continues to today with her current students.
“I knew Ms. Steen was going on with some kind of performance major, and I said to her, like I say to all of my seniors, ‘what is the one last thing I can give you before you leave this institution?’” Harms said. “And she said, ‘I’ve never directed.’”
Since Steen student directed, Harms has found that some students have the same drive to direct as Steen had. “For a while after she did it, I started to have groups of students who were really ripe for student directing,” Harms said.
Students in the PPSC theater class get the opportunity to sway the focus of the class in the Fall. “They wanted to focus on playwriting, which we did to great effect. And then they wanted to learn some directing things, so the idea was that they’d write and direct pieces,” Harms said.
Harms had her student directors choose their own pieces, so that they are passionate about the piece they direct. “You have to direct what you love,” Harms said. “Two students were going to direct pieces that we were going to purchase, but then when they got into them, they changed their minds. And so everything now is also student written.”
Harms enjoys the new perspective that student directing provides for the students who were previously actors under her direction. “The thing I first love about this is when the directors come back to me and say, ‘Oh my god. I didn’t know this, what am I going to do about that?’” Harms said, “I hope that it gives them a whole different perspective on what they’ve been the recipient of.”
Harms hopes that after every show is complete, the directors can feel proud of what they put together. “In the end, what I want most of all is for them to be proud of themselves,” Harms said. “And when we get done and the show is closed, what we’re going to do is sit down and go, all right, what did you do right? What do you wish you had done? What tripped you up? That kind of thing.”
Harms believes that the student directed plays open the theater department to a whole new audience at MSHS, including new prospective actors or directors.
Harms hopes that the student directors take the plays as an opportunity to learn and empathize with her work. “I’m just excited for the opportunity for them to share this work,” Harms said.
Isaac Boczkiewicz (11), a student in the PPSC Theater class, is directing a play that he chose because of its comedy elements. “I decided on this play because it is so wacky and goofy that I knew I would have a fun time with it, and so would my actors,” Boczkiewicz said.
Harms believes that the student directed plays put student leaders in charge of their peers in a whole new way, and opens their eyes to the responsibilities behind a production.
Boczkiewicz is prepared to take on his role of being a director. “I’m super excited to put myself in the shoes of the director and face all of its challenges, as well as get all of the satisfaction when the play is successful,” Boczkiewicz said. “I’m also excited to see people who have never done theatre before be able to have a go at it, and see their potential.”
Boczkiewicz believes that student directed plays and larger productions both have their benefits. “I think that if you are going into theatre for the first time, it is helpful to do a short student directed play so there isn’t so much on your plate,” Boczkiewicz said, “but at the same time, doing an actual play is also very fun and fulfilling.”
Jameson Cunningham (12) is directing a comedic play as well, and he is excited to experience the process with his cast. “In truth, I never expected myself to have this much responsibility;” Cunningham said, “however, I like the challenge. I have heard from the other directors about how difficult it is for them, and how stressed they are, but I’m not stressed out about any of this stuff. The people I am working with have good energy, and they will tell me if something is amiss, making my job a lot easier and less stressful.”
Cunningham had doubts about his cast learning their lines because neither cast member had a smaller role than the other, but he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that lines were being memorized well.
Cunningham believes that the path from actor to director contributes to his directing methods. “For students that want to direct a play for themselves, I recommend theatre experience beforehand,” Cunningham said. “A director who has done the work of an actor before can empathize with the cast and understand their point of view, while also understanding that a deadline needs to be honored. This helps them push the actors enough so they can get their stuff done.”
