Written by Carly Kester
Perseverance, organization, passion. These are qualities one-act play directors atHarding Universitysay they must possess.
Junior Logan Kays has shown these qualities while directing the play,“The Scheme of the Driftless Shifter,”which performed Sunday, Feb. 13.
Theatre majors are required to direct a one-act play as the final project of their junior year. They pick several scripts to submit to theatre professors, and the professors choose which script the student will direct.
Kays said a few of the reasons she picked “The Scheme of the Driftless Shifter” is because she experienced it in high school and because of the casting dynamic.
“It’s got a big cast so you can get a lot of people involved, but some of the parts are smaller so it’s not as much of a time commitment,” Kays said. “And none of the parts are terribly challenging…it’s a very versatile and fun show.”
Organization is critical when balancing school, a social life and directing, said Kays. She said she keeps herself organized by maintaining a schedule.
“You don’t sleep very much, and you drink a lot of caffeine,” Kays said. “But it’s okay, you just have to be very organized. I’ve got a planner and a blackberry and I just have to schedule time to do things.”
Kays said she started off at Harding not being able to decide what to major in.
“I had the hardest time deciding what I was going to major in, just because I love a lot of things,” Kays said. “I thought about music, I even thought about science for a while, but I knew that whatever I was going to work this hard for, I wanted to do something that I loved. And I’ve always loved theater.”
Auditions for plays were held last semester, and the cast that was chosen had the chance to read the script during Christmas break. At the beginning of the spring semester, rehearsals are held for three or four weeks, depending on when the play will be performed.
Kays said she was thankful that the cast and script were taken care of before the beginning of spring semester.
“We hadn’t built the set, hadn’t picked out costumes or lights or anything like that so we had to do a lot of tech stuff. But the script was selected and the actors were chosen, so that was thankfully done,” Kays said.
Although Kays said directing a play takes a lot of work and determination, she said she enjoyed it so much that she plans to pursue a master’s degree and teach at the college level, where she will be able to help students direct their own plays.
“I was considering doing something with directing, but I didn’t really know what,” Kays said. “And some people will do this project and say, ‘I’m never directing again,’ but I’ve enjoyed it.”
A highlight of being able to direct a play, Kays said, is the dynamic and the different personalities of the cast involved and how that affects the direction of the play.
“You get to work with a lot of people and you learn how to work with people,” Kays said. “It’s just fun to watch other people take your ideas and concepts and add what they bring to the table, and come up with a show that’s different than what you expected, but usually in a good way.”
Overall, being able to direct the play has been rewarding, Kays said.
“It’s been a great experience,” she said. “I was blessed with an amazing, talented cast and crew that I’m working with so it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been challenging, and I’ve learned a lot, but it’s been really fun.”
