Coaches

“Players is a student-run organization.”

Yes it is, but for a moment, think about the significances of those last three words. Students manage an activity that at any moment 100-150 students eager to develop their often amazing abilities to design, build, act, sew, and publicize. Every afternoon, during the course of three full productions over the entire school year, Players fill a wing of the school, intent on having fun doing all of these things. Students in Players handle the unseen work of organization- scheduling, planning, budgeting, and governing this terrific activity—in ways that sometimes surpass the visible talents on display.

What is the secret to their success, on stage and off? A group of talented and incredibly committed adults from both the professional world of theatre and the LM faculty known as the Coaches. Coaches fulfill a difficult role: to teach students how to manage the “student run” elements of Players.

Follow a Coach through a typical afternoon with Players. Conversations with students change instantly—learning how to reschedule an afternoon rehearsal or to accommodate an unexpected conflict are skills as important to fun and safety as knowing what fabric to select or choice of a light to hang. Put simply, Coaches fret over every detail of every decision they help the students to make.