Written by Jordan Bailey
Many students have noticed the lack of inexpensive cultural weekend activities on campus this semester. One of the major sources of entertainment, student-directed plays, has been missed by the theater-going crowd.
Play Directing, a class for theatre majors, is taught by Robin Miller and is only offered in the fall. Nine people are currently in the class. Six of those students will direct this spring.
The directing class is a prerequisite for junior directing projects, which all theater majors must complete. Junior theater major Liz Willen is currently enrolled in the class and will be directing “The Patchwork Quilt” this spring.
Willen said she would have directed this semester, but she had to take the class first.
“I didn’t know that you could take the class before your junior year so that you could do your project your junior year,” Willen said. “I thought that you had to be a junior to take it, which is why I hadn’t taken it yet.”
Directing is not Willen’s first interaction with student-directed plays. She has acted in two shows, “Monkey’s Paw” and “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds,” and she stage-managed “The Dining Room.”
Willen said people had asked her if there were going to be shows this semester and they seemed disappointed when she told them there were not any scheduled.
One of the requirements of the newly created Theater Appreciation course is to view live theater. The lack of shows on campus hindered some students from seeing shows conveniently and at a low cost.
Students who missed student-directed shows this semester will be able to get their fill of shows in the spring. Along with Willen’s show, other plays on the docket next semester include “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Mere Mortals,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Ugly Duckling” and “I Never Saw Another Butterfly.” Auditions for all these shows were held earlier this semester, and the cast lists have been posted.
One of the new features of shows next semester is what Willen calls a “five-day turnaround.” This means there will be shows every weekend, and a new show will prepare its set and rehearse in the actual performance space for a week before an audience.
This pattern will only last for the first half of the semester because the last half will be dedicated to Spring Sing and the Youth Forum show, “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
Willen plans to be a teacher, and she said directing as an undergraduate will prepare her for her future career. Even though she does not always like the idea of directing as a student, she said she can see the benefit of preparation.
“As a teacher, I’m going to have to be essentially a director to all my kids, and so I think it just kind of gets me ready for that because I’m going to have to be directing a bunch of children in class all the time,” Willen said.
The difference between her future role as a teacher and her role as a director to people close to her age is a shift Willen said she is prepared to meet.
“It’s really interesting having to work with your peers but having to be in charge of them, sort of,” Willen said. “It’s really hard going from being the friend and being on the same level to ‘I need you to do what I tell you to do.'”
Willen said she thinks she has a good cast for her show, in part because she has a couple of upperclassmen and some freshmen.
“I think it’s good to have freshmen so that they can be seasoned and learn,” Willen said.
Willen reminded potential audience members that the quality of student-directed shows differs from other productions because the people involved are all students.
“I feel like sometimes people go in there expecting them to be the Homecoming musical, but they’re not,” Willen said. “They can’t be because they’re student-directed shows.”
To fill their time this semester, most theater majors were involved in the Homecoming musical, “Scrooge,” which took place in the Benson Auditorium and was performed for large crowds.
Sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major Stephen McBride also performed in “Scrooge” and will be one of the four hosts of this year’s Spring Sing.
McBride has been involved with many aspects of the theater world at Harding, including acting in three student-directed shows last year.
McBride agrees with Willen about the accessibility of involvement in student-directed shows for non-theater majors. McBride said many students who are non-theatre majors like he is are involved with theatre through student-directed shows.
“It’s a good chance to get involved and get to know how our theater program operates,” McBride said. “This is the best way for people with little or no experience acting to get involved with Harding theater.”
The flexibility and variety of plays students choose to direct is another draw for audiences and actors.
“Student-directed shows are often performed alongside one or two other shows, allowing an audience to see a wider variety of talent for their ticket, with different styles seen in both acting and directing,” McBride said.
There are benefits other than acting experience that come through being involved in student-directed shows, according to McBride.
“Some of the best friends I’ve made at Harding are ones I’ve met because I decided to audition for a student-directed show,” McBride said.
The accessibility to non-majors and entertainment for an evening are two highlights of student-directed shows, and students will have numerous opportunities to attend shows next semester. Willen emphasized the important role of non-majors in the process of directing as a student.
“It exposes other areas of the campus because you don’t have to be a theater major to be involved, and you don’t have to have any experience either,” Willen said. “And it’s fun.”
