A spotlight shines down on the closed red curtain of the auditorium stage. The audience is silent, anticipating the usual director’s welcoming statement. However, Director Melissa Carpenter doesn’t enter; rather, a pair of seniors take center stage.
The Argyle Theatre Department will showcase their senior directs on Jan. 16 and 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Each night there will be three plays performed: Always a Bridesmaid directed by Madison Jackson and Vrddhi Raviraj Jathan, Over the River And Through the Woods directed by Jacob Allen and Alix Bourland and The Tin Woman directed by Jordyn Davis and Jack Dillon.
“A senior direct kind of came about a few years ago to give students more opportunities to perform,” Carpenter said. “ This not only gave students opportunities to perform over time, but it also gave the seniors a chance to take a different role as director and give them some insight.”
Carpenter takes a hands-off approach allowing seniors to have a better understanding of the production process. One of these first critical decisions starts with choosing what show to perform.
“Jake brought it to me and I hadn’t heard about [Over the River And Through the Woods] before,” Bourland said. “But we have very funny actors in our class so we wanted to do something that would highlight that, but also give them something to grow because this show also has a lot of deeper and more somber moments.”
One of the factors that influence senior directors’ decisions is the uniqueness of their show such as choosing a specific period, the play’s genre, or having distinctive lighting, set design, or other technical aspect.
“I think our [show] is pretty unique because it’s a different vibe and take from a lot of shows,” Bourland said. “We’ve had a lot of time period senior directs in the past couple of years, so this one is more modern and also like a straight comedy.”
Another factor that goes into choosing what show the class should perform is the amount of actors they have as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
“I really saw it as a challenge because there’s a lot of easy routes to go about senior directs,” Dillon said. “Some of these kids who maybe had played one role their entire career, I wanted to really give them an opportunity to grow as actors.”
Once a senior director chooses their show, they then have to present it to the class and allow the class to vote on what show they would like to perform. After a show is chosen, the audition process then quickly follows it.
“Casting is not fun to say the least,” Dillon said. “You have a lot of people that are talented and you have to choose the best one. A lot of times that’s hard to physicalize.”
Once each actor has been cast in their role, the senior directors can move their focus onto the rehearsal process.
“The easiest way is to lead by example,” Dillon said. “As directors, we’re trying not to cause a lot of distractions and we are trying to lock in.”
The majority of the rehearsal time is during the theatre class period due to the limited time constraint. To overcome this challenge, the script is broken down so each scene can be perfected throughout multiple class periods.
“My favorite part has been working one-on-one with people,” Dillon said. “That’s when you’re super picky, saying ‘This movement was just a little bit too fast.’ That’s so interesting to me because my brain loves that and I love to focus on every single syllable.”
Working one-on-one with the directors is where the show can have its make-or-break moment, allowing the play to become even more believable and emotional to the audience. Long term, these sessions also benefit the actors by allowing them to expand and experiment with their acting skills.
“I think it’s about giving the underclassmen a chance to become better actors,” Allen said. “I think that’s what these shows rely on: those underclassmen stepping up at their roles and being the best at those roles that they can be.”
With senior directs coming to a close, the senior class looks forward to the productions to come and eventually graduation. With the largest class graduating from the theatre department, they are more intent on leaving their lasting legacy in the department and to their fellow actors.
“I wanted to say thank you,” Dillon said. “I’ve had so many memories with these kids and I really appreciate everything because you can’t do a show by yourself.”
