On the 28th and the 29th of January, the Joan Harris Gelb Theater—more commonly known as the Chapel Basement—could barely contain the riotous cheering of friends and family at this year’s Student-Directed Scenes. Scenes this year touched on topics ranging from the Battle of Bull Run to murderous French maids, and each scene has its own distinct character and personality. The thirteen scenes were directed by students in the Directing 450 course, a two-term course taught by Tracy Ginder-Delventhal. The audience was extremely supportive, and many actors later said that the audience’s enthusiasm helped energize their performances and bring out their best efforts on stage.
For many actors, the Directed Scene was one of their first experiences on stage, but the audience was amazed by the students’ performances. “Sooo good!” “friggin’ amazing,” and “hysterical” are just a select few of the phrases used to describe the two nights’ shows. Christina Adelakun ’09 raved after Monday night’s show that the best part was seeing friends who had never acted before, whom she would never have expected to act, on stage. She further commented that experience didn’t seem to matter, because everyone was “just amazing.” The scenes brought many new talents to the stage, and encouraged many budding actors to pursue theater further.
Kelly Greenwood ’09, who played rocker Kate in Melody Travers ’08 rendition of The Taming of the Shrew, enjoyed the chance to try something new and the chance to develop new interests in acting she felt working on her scene provided. Greenwood, along with other actors and directors, loved the camaraderie of working with other students and the new friendships cast members formed. Jen Xiao ’09, director of “The Bear,” remarked that, by the final rehearsal, “it was ‘our’ performance.” Scenes brought people together and prompted many friendships that otherwise would never have occurred. The director of the “unlikely love story” Ferris Wheel, Jen Bashian ’08, declared that “We really worked as a team to bring out [the actors’] skills, let down their guards, and have a good time.” The “good times” definitely shone through in every director’s scene, and it was evident that there was no lack of enthusiasm and comfort among casts and directors.
The supportive atmosphere of the Directing 450 class also ultimately affected the scenes performed. Bashian proclaimed that their class is “filled with talented and zany directors who all think outside of the box.” Students encouraged and helped each other to solve problems within their scenes, as well as aiding in other directors’ final productions with lights and sound. Rachel Johnson ’09, director of the fabulously funny “Blind Date” scene, commented that directing took a lot of trial and error, and that getting the scene “just right” took a great deal of effort and thought. Blocking was a way to achieve “just right” for Gilbert Tetteh ’08, director of “Confessions,” and he was even able to embellish the story and add characters—the “Fantasy Girls” were created especially to bring “Jake’s” dreams to life, and were not originally in the script. All the directors had to be comfortable and crazy with their casts—“leading by example,” as Tetteh put it, and encouraging their actors to step out of their comfort zone.
The tight space in the Chapel Basement this year created problems when, much to the dismay of latecomers, the Tuesday night performance was completely packed and many students were forced to leave without seeing their friends perform. Every one of the 100 seats in the theater was taken, and this left a number of students sitting on the floor or standing against the wall. Ginder-Delventhal, who was in charge of the performances, commented that almost as many audience members were turned away as were seated, and this resulted in many angered and disappointed friends. When asked about the possibility of multiple performance nights, she cited logistical problems more than anything else. She added that the idea of multiple performances is already under discussion, and that she will be talking with Paul Tines, Director of the Arts Department.
“Our relationship to the arts as a community is really special,” stated Ginder-Delventhal in summary of the two nights. “I’m excited by the fact that so many kids do theater here.” The scenes provided three hours of much-needed entertainment in the midst of dreary winter term, and everyone, from actors to directors to audience members, was incredibly pleased with them. The next opportunity for students to become involved in acting is the Student Playwriting Festival in March.
