Lauren Trimm

Reporter

The W’s Theatre Department will present a series of student-directed scenes on April 10, 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. in Cromwell.

Directors include Karen Thead, Katie Welch, Candice Monteith, Kevin Barkman, Saudai Jackson, Graham Young and Jonathan Best. The scenes are a way to get students involved and count as a final grade for students in William “Peppy” Biddy’s directing class at The W.

Three of the students gave their thoughts on what it’s like to be a director. Although each director has his or her favorite part, all three agreed there are many different aspects to directing a play.

“My favorite part is probably the part where I get to use my own thoughts and my mindset on my projects and the scenes, and being able to not exactly take direction but give direction,” said Welch.

Instead of focusing on one angle of a play, the students are tasked with thinking about every aspect, from sound and lighting to dialogue and acting. Details are key.

“With directing, you have to take a complete step back and think about everything because you are creating a world that everyone is going to see, so you have to think about every little aspect of that world,” said Monteith.

For the directors, the most challenging aspect is setting rehearsal times. Scheduling issues often happen because of jobs, and there is limited rehearsal time. With only nine hours permitted over the course of five weeks, each minute is vital.

“We have to adhere to the schedule, but with our own peers,” said Best.

Even with the challenges, directing is still their passion because of the joy of entertaining others.

“I’ve had those ‘a-ha’ moments with this project,” said Best. “And it’s a really good feeling to be like, ‘Oh, I’m about to make this scene 10 times more interesting.’”