Directing the Student Produced Show: James Wilson '24

Each January students plan, direct, and perform an evening that can include short plays, a musical, student produced movies, or other types of performance. In 2024, senior James Wilson both wrote and produced the student showcase. Here we connect with him about this experience.

 

Q. Why were you interested in doing the student produced play?

A. In sophomore year I acted in one of the student showcase mini plays. One friend had written and directed their own play. I love to write fiction, so the next year I wrote my own piece and then I did it again this year. This year was more stressful because I was in charge of my own play and the overall success of the evening and I produced the whole event.

Q. What is the timeline for this production? It seems pretty condensed.

A. The play needs to written by mid-December. At that point all of the directors and Mr. Freeman discuss the plays and make plans for the auditions. We do auditions a week later and generally people memorize scripts during Christmas break because. The Showcase is at the end of January. We have one or two rehearsals a week throughout January and then we perform.

 

Q. Did you find the audition process intimidating? Did Mr. Freeman or anyone else guide you through this process?

A. Auditions were scary this year because we used one of my monologues. This way we could try it out. Essentially, that was the debut of my play up to that point and it would have been awkward if everyone hated it.

When choosing a cast, I pick people that I know are going to be reliable. Even still, it can be hard for them to get ready during the compressed timeframe. The fear is if someone doesn’t say their line and it gets awkward because they have to do some weird improv thing, but that hasn’t happened.

Q. How does this feel different from the plays directed by Mr. Freeman?

A. It's different because everybody is forced to improvise and lock in on their roles and to fill outside roles that we don’t have. We have to come with our own props, sets, costumes and most of the time we don’t do make up. Directors and actors have to take on myriad tasks. It’s doable but it requires more creativity and awareness of what has to be done and what else you have to take on. It’s very different for the actors, it is much more ambiguous because you don’t know what you are going to get with a showcase play. 

In the plays directed by Mr. Freeman, you know what you are going for, you may have seen or read the play. In a showcase play, you show up and audition and you don't know what role you are going to get, whose play you will be cast in and if the play is going to be any good.

Q. How did you grow personally because of this process? What specific skills do you think improved because of this process?

A. I grew in confidence in my writing and ability as leader in the theatre community and outside of the theatre community. This was the first time I felt that I was completely responsible for a full show. I was proud of how it turned out, both of what I had written and how it was pulled off. 

Even though writing is a passion of mine and I write often, this was the first time anything I wrote was performed on that scale. It made me realize that my work fulfilled a need and people enjoyed what I created and took something meaningful away from it. That motivates me to keep working. 

One last thing...this really pushed me in the arena of task management and keeping an eye on all of the little background tasks that normally wouldn't be at the front of your mind.  

Q. What would you say is the value of having a student produced show?

A. I think that having a regular student produced show at the school is very important. It's an opportunity to see the creativity and the thriftiness of the student community on display. This is also a showcase of our creativity and our ideas separate from what peers, instructors, or a play script are telling us to do. While there is absolutely value in theater directed by a professional, there is also something special about seeing what your peers can do. This is true in the visual arts, in the musical arts, everywhere. It's interesting and exciting to see what people come up with when given that freedom, and it's very validating for people who are creative. 

Q. Is there anything else you would want to share or that you wish I would have asked about this?

A. I think a lot of people have the idea because it is run by students that it is going to be low quality and I would like to dispel that notion. Each year audience members genuinely enjoy the Showcase. Recognizing the limited time and resources available to put the show on, it's always exciting to see how it comes together. In a way that makes it just as impressive because you know what they are working with. I would invite everyone to come and see what the students put out in coming years.

 

A special thanks to senior Curtis Craig for these photos!