Usually in the theater program, teachers direct shows, but Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the theater room, students will be putting on a show directed by another student, senior Vidisha Anand.
At the end of every year, some seniors in theater get a chance to direct a show of their choice. Students on campus, whether in the theater program or not, then audition for their shows and are assigned a role. This is the second and final senior production show of the year, with the other one, directed by senior Sradha Das, already having taken place on Monday.
“Senior directs has been a part of Liberty for as long as I can remember!” Anand said. “The process has been mostly the same, but every year seniors bring their own creative elements to their shows. I am directing the show “The Real Inspector Hound.” It is an absurd comedy with morals about classism and corruption.”
Seniors interested in directing a show had to apply first, communicating their plan for a prospective show.
“To get [my show] approved [I] had a chat with our director with [my] vision for the show and a basic plan,” Anand said.
For junior Amanda Oh, participating in Anand´s rehearsals served as a way to learn something new while still having fun.
“I learned a lot about my voice and my mannerisms,” Oh said. “Especially how to make myself more masculine and confident in a comedic way – like making my voice more boisterous and using all the space I could. [I also enjoyed] learning all the jokes [in the show] and hearing people laugh at them, plus spending more time with and learning about the rest of the actors since I got to see how they were comedically, but also the quirks they have when acting.”
Senior production shows provide a unique opportunity for students to put a show together completely on their own without teacher input.
“It’s also a nice way to end the year with some student to student interaction instead of the directors having to direct and produce a whole show,” senior Aparajitha Srinivasan said. “In general, with being in a production in which everyone is a student, I think sometimes it teaches people the difficulty in directing and also teaches people that you have to respect your peers as a director. Even if it’s like your best friend, there’s a level of respect that comes with directing.”
