Auditions Close, Rehearsals Begin for Annual Student-Directed Scenes
By JungHa Lim ’09
News Staff Reporters
Student-directed scenes, one of the two main purely student-run productions that take place throughout the school year, are comprised of a diverse medley of skits performed and directed by students. “They range from contemporary comedies to Shakespeare's tragedy, ‘Hamlet,’” Ellie Foster ’08 explained. They are scheduled to show on January 28 and 29 of 2008 at the Joan Harris Gelb Theater, and in order to prepare for these performances, auditions for directed scenes were held during the first week of winter term.
The student-directed scenes are traditionally major projects for thirteen students, mainly upper formers, who take the directing class offered at Choate. The students who participate in the Directing 450 course show unanimous enthusiasm and positive attitudes toward the new skills they acquire and the excitement they experience throughout the course. Emily MacLeod ’08 declared, “Directing so far has been a very challenging and new experience.” She also stated, “The class is full of very talented people with extremely different visions and styles, which will definitely be reflected in the final scenes in January.” Jen Bashian ’08 said, “[The class] is great, even for people who don’t consider themselves thespians.” She went on to explain that “directing requires a completely different skill set, and it’s interesting to be the one to create the theatre that is put up.”
This year’s auditions, according to the directors, provided prime talent for this year’s spectrum of scenes. There was no particular requirement to be fulfilled by the auditioning students; the advertisements for the auditions posted all around campus specifically stated that “no previous acting experience [was] required.” MacLeod said that “every single person who showed up gave it their all.” In the end, a total of 48 actors were selected, and the student directors expressed regret that “there were not enough roles to give everyone a chance,” according to MacLeod. Bashian said that she “hated to see so many talented people turned away,” and encouraged everyone rejected from the directed scenes auditions to “keep on auditioning!” The directors also could not conceal their eagerness to collaborate with their newly found actors. Bashian in particular exclaimed, “They have great potential and I can’t wait to see what we create together.”
One of the plays in this year’s directed scenes is “Hamlet,” directed by Charlotte McCurdy ’08 and starring Tamara Gonzalez ’10 as its protagonist. Another one is a skit called “Ferris Wheel,” directed by Jen Bashian ’08, which is “a play about fate and fortune bringing people together.” Alex Fischbein ’10 and Christian Duffy ’08 take the roles of the two main characters. In addition to these two plays, eleven other plays will be presented in late January, and they will reflect both the directors’ and the actors’ strenuous efforts and talent.
