Posted April 10, 2022

By Natalie Hebert

Staff Editor

Auditions for the upcoming senior directed one acts were held after school in the Performing Arts Center on Monday-Tuesday, April 4-5.

There were 42 auditioners hoping to land a part in one of five plays. They were placed in groups of five and asked to read from an unknown script for each senior director. Each director had various scripts to choose from. The auditioners had time to read their chosen piece and rehearse their lines before performing it. They then went to the next director and repeated the process.

Theater IV seniors make up the directors. Two plays have one director; the remaining three plays have two directors. The directors had approximately three weeks to choose their one act play, with help from Theatre IV teacher Michael Givler.

“It is going really great so far,” said Givler. “My Theater IV students, the directors, said that there is a lot of talent being shown in this year’s actors.”

In addition to the five one act plays, the Black Student Union (BSU) is performing an act to make each performing night consist of three plays. Senior directors Sebastian Walker-Hopkins and Gracie Del Rosario chose the one act Just Add Zombies by Jonathan Dorf.

"We didn't see anything else as a fit for us to direct," said Del Rosario. "Watching the auditioners play zombies was amusing."

Walker-Hopkins and Del Rosario added that their biggest concern was casting smaller characters and then having the actors act like zombies in some scenes.

“I really like zombies,” said Walker-Hopkins.

The one act play This is a Test, by Stephen Gregg, will be directed by solo director Arianna Gsell.

“It's great to get the process started,” said Gsell. “We have been working on this for six weeks. I really like that my production is funny and relatable at times."

Since gender casting for the play was flexible, Gsell could cast any gender assigned to her play. This is a Test is a one act good for beginner actors who want to experience what it's like being on stage.

“It was really great to hear my play being spoken instead of it in my head,” said Gsell.

This is a Test contains the Chinese language, including a joke using Chinese. To stage the play, Gsell is trying to be more sensitive so it doesn’t come off the wrong way.

Senior Denzel Menjivar is the other solo director. He chose If It Don't Hurt, It Ain’t Love by John R. Carroll.

“I chose this show for strong women roles,” said Menjivar. "I'm overwhelmed with the talent that came in, and I hope that next year there will be a larger turnout."

Boxes by Kendra Thomas will be directed by seniors Tyler Carter and Lan Dang. They stated that they chose a play that was the most relatable to both of them. Boxes reflects the expectations put onto teenagers. They stated that their auditioning process went smoothly, and that they are ready to make their cast socialize, especially after not having theater for so long.

“Having fun is the goal," said Dang. "Learning some theater is a plus."

Seniors Tommy Nitz and Julia Sklyaruk will be directing The Cards of Fate by Ed Monk. They stated that they chose this one act because it's a dark comedy. They mentioned they giggled the moment they found out. Both of them were honest about how the process is going, mentioning that it’s tedious and stressful.

“Some nights I didn’t go to bed until three o'clock,” said Sklyaruk.

Nitz and Sklyaruk added that there was pressure because of the amount of talent that came in this year. An obstacle will be putting all of it into the process of making everything come together.