Relating to adults: not as hard as becoming one
My senior year I was given the opportunity to co-direct a Shakespeare play at Families Inspiring Leaders Academy (FILA), the homeschool commonwealth I attended. The commonwealth’s Shakespeare class performed a different comedy by the Bard every year. I had been performing or doing backstage work in these plays since I was 12, and I was beyond excited to experience this production from a new perspective. However, this new perspective would soon present many obstacles that would greatly impact and shape my growth as a young adult.
The first problem I encountered was the concern of my mentor, the previous director Genne Allen, that I might not be up to taking on the role of not only assistant director, …show more content…
Looking back, I honestly can’t remember what our original ideas were. I had always been intrigued by the notion of a minimalist modern setting; nothing but the costumes and props to create a scene with, a very Shakespearean idea. However, we were teaching 12-15-year-old kids who were definitely not as intrigued by pure drama. Genne had suggested setting it during the civil war, or WW2, which seemed completely insane to me. Our conservative budget of $250 would not have produced decent costumes for those eras, and the research involved for finding correct insignia for the soldiers would have been a nightmare for those of us less interested in the arbitrary details of a violent time …show more content…
Girls shimmy into their poofy skirts and dresses, boys complain loudly while having their makeup applied, and the lights change colors every 20 seconds onstage. “How long until we start?” “30 minutes. Keep running lines.” I rush back and forth between the two backstage areas, ticking things off my mental list and whisper-yelling at kids to clean up their prop boxes and keep food out of the backstage rooms. “10 minutes everyone!” I can hear loud chatter from the audience gathering outside the door, so I grab Leiloni and the cast to wish them good luck. “This is it, you guys. You’ve worked so hard, and I’m so proud of all of you. You guys are gonna be great. Does anyone want to volunteer to pray?” The female lead, Emma, raises her hand to volunteer and we stand in a circle and bow our heads. As she finishes, the lights go on and off, signaling five minutes. The actors take their places for the first scene and I reluctantly go to join my family in the
My senior year I was given the opportunity to co-direct a Shakespeare play at Families Inspiring Leaders Academy (FILA), the homeschool commonwealth I attended. The commonwealth’s Shakespeare class performed a different comedy by the Bard every year. I had been performing or doing backstage work in these plays since I was 12, and I was beyond excited to experience this production from a new perspective. However, this new perspective would soon present many obstacles that would greatly impact and shape my growth as a young adult.
The first problem I encountered was the concern of my mentor, the previous director Genne Allen, that I might not be up to taking on the role of not only assistant director, …show more content…
Looking back, I honestly can’t remember what our original ideas were. I had always been intrigued by the notion of a minimalist modern setting; nothing but the costumes and props to create a scene with, a very Shakespearean idea. However, we were teaching 12-15-year-old kids who were definitely not as intrigued by pure drama. Genne had suggested setting it during the civil war, or WW2, which seemed completely insane to me. Our conservative budget of $250 would not have produced decent costumes for those eras, and the research involved for finding correct insignia for the soldiers would have been a nightmare for those of us less interested in the arbitrary details of a violent time …show more content…
Girls shimmy into their poofy skirts and dresses, boys complain loudly while having their makeup applied, and the lights change colors every 20 seconds onstage. “How long until we start?” “30 minutes. Keep running lines.” I rush back and forth between the two backstage areas, ticking things off my mental list and whisper-yelling at kids to clean up their prop boxes and keep food out of the backstage rooms. “10 minutes everyone!” I can hear loud chatter from the audience gathering outside the door, so I grab Leiloni and the cast to wish them good luck. “This is it, you guys. You’ve worked so hard, and I’m so proud of all of you. You guys are gonna be great. Does anyone want to volunteer to pray?” The female lead, Emma, raises her hand to volunteer and we stand in a circle and bow our heads. As she finishes, the lights go on and off, signaling five minutes. The actors take their places for the first scene and I reluctantly go to join my family in the