Most musicals and plays have an adult director you can count on to pull your whole show together. Most of the time, they are someone you know you can trust and rely on. But, what if you didn’t have this adult figure to direct you? Would the show still go on?

This year, juniors and seniors stepped up to the plate to lead their cast of freshmen and sophomores to an outstanding performance. The night consisted of four shows: “The Customer is Always Wrong”, “Ten Ways to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse”, “Ten Reasons Why I Should Have Stayed Home Sick Today”, and “On the Dock”.

Many freshmen found it easy to connect with their upperclassmen director, which helped ease the stress of being in the play.

Johnny Freund, ‘22, said, “My favorite part of having upperclassmen as directors is that we can relate to each other. For me, it was really easy to see what they were thinking, and to try to do exactly what they wanted.”

Not only was it easy for cast members to relate to their directors through the plays, they also understood the stress everyone was going through. Both cast members and directors were working to balance everything in their lives.

“I liked that it was a lot less stressful because they were students like me, so I didn’t feel as pressured to perform perfectly. The upperclassmen are still figuring things out, and I think it makes for a much more candid experience,” said Ricky Walker, ‘21.

Practices for the cast were also more laid back and easy going.

“I really enjoyed some of the team building exercises we did when we finished our run-throughs of the play,” said Jenna Berendes, ‘22. “They were always super fun and got everyone laughing.”

Many upperclassmen enjoyed having the freedom of directing their own show.

“The best part of being a director is having the opportunity to put together a play with so much freedom,” said Eva Wahlert, ‘20. “You get to put your vision on stage, and it’s very exciting.”