The Harrison Junior School drama season wrapped up in late November with a very successful performance of Anastasia Jr. For the four of the five years since the program started again after being combined with the high school program, high school student directors have been an integral part of this program. Directors Tricia Evanson and Bailey Eilers summed up the importance of the student directors in the thank you section of the Anastasia program: “To the truly remarkable student directors, let us just say this: without you the show would be a shell of itself, bereft of choreo, programs, costumes, stage management, vocal preparation, and so much more. You live our core values every day; you are the absolute embodiment of the best of this drama program, and we are so proud of you.” With the first seniors who have served as directors for four years about to graduate, they leave a legacy of cooperation between the high school and junior high programs. Now, new students will step up and continue growing their skills as performers at the high school, and directors at the junior school.
When a student director joins a middle school show, new doors open far and wide with endless opportunities. Most middle schools don’t have high school members to help develop a production, and many have little access to special tools such as backdrops and lighting effects. Thanks to Harrison’s student directors, we have unique advances in our middle school productions from cooler sound effects to extra helpers with vocal training. 2 years ago, Harrison Junior school presented their 2023 show, Moana Jr. The production was fairly elaborate and required lots of hard work, but the final result made everything worth it! With help from multiple student directors, the lighting effects were spectacular and added more intensity to certain emotional scenes. Additionally, the production’s iconic volcano wouldn’t have been possible without a high school student director with experience as a batten manager. These incredible leaders add so much to the HJS productions and allow the high school shows to flourish as members gain extra experience and practice in theater.
To fully understand their importance, we have to know exactly what a student director is. Student directors are high school students in the Creative Arts Theater who volunteer to help build and develop the middle school performances. “Helping with props and stage managing helps Ms. Evanson and Ms. Eilers focus more on the cast and crew as a whole to make our production better,” noted Kora Doolan, a junior at Harrison High School. They speed up the process and act as role models for the junior high students, giving advice and helping out wherever they are needed. These positions are extremely important to the team and allow the main directors to accomplish more so they can focus on completing the production on schedule. Now, older members are ready to exit stage left, leaving many empty spaces to be filled by younger performers searching for leadership opportunities.
Without student directors, the junior school’s performing arts program would become much less efficient and could face many undesirable challenges. Calleigh Hubbard, a sophomore at Harrison High School, described how student directors allow each show to run smoothly with fewer problems for the lead director to worry about. According to her, “Having students take over jobs the directors would originally have to juggle allows them to focus on the production itself while the student leaders take care of the behind-the-scenes jobs.” These aides are intrinsic to the process of creating the show and adding an extra layer of depth to each performance.
Now that many previous student directors are preparing to graduate, younger members of the drama cast and crew must replace them. According to a quick poll of current student directors, there are many reasons to take on this leadership position. Ashlyn Fuhrmann, a senior at Harrison High School, had plenty of reasons to be a student leader. “I didn’t want to have an off season from drama, as well as wanting to try my hand at the directorial side of the show,” explained the president of the drama student body. Getting more experience as a director and as a leader is a great way to gain confidence in yourself and learn how to solve problems more efficiently. Plus, student directing allows theater lovers to have a longer drama season and extra fun!
Choosing to be a student director can also be a great way for high school students to explore who they are as leaders. According to Gwynevere Hill, student directing is a great way to gain experience in maintaining a balanced relationship with the actors. The sophomore responded, “I always try to make sure that as much as my crew is serious, that they’re also having a fun time!” In this leadership position, students must learn to be each actors’ boss while also keeping a strong friendship. Hill detailed how despite being their director, she ensures that she and her team have a great time with each other, making inside jokes and having a blast. “It’s important to make those connections so we can work well as a team,” she explained. In drama club, connection is extremely important when working with peers. This becomes especially beneficial when middle school members enter high school because upperclassmen will already have an established relationship with them. It allows the entire cast and crew to work well together and get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.
One of the best parts of student directing is seeing the impact each production has on the middle school students and on the audience itself. There is nothing more amazing than the feeling high school students have when they see the effect they have on their younger drama members. Adianca Ortiz shared, “My favorite part of student directing is watching the kids grow to love the show and just drama as a whole.” As middle school students learn acting techniques and crew positions all based on the teachings of their upperclassmen, student directors discover emotions they never expected to feel, gaining a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Ortiz also described the feeling when the final pieces of the production came together at the elementary school showing. “I decided to be a student director because I remember watching the high school productions, and it was so mind-blowing to me, that I immediately decided that I wanted to do that in high school.” She recalled the wonder she experienced while watching performances in elementary school and explained how she wanted to recreate this wonder for new generations of elementary kids. Experiencing the dumbfounded stares of pure awe from these young students is amazing and shows how just a few students can inspire an entire generation of theater lovers.
With so many student directors preparing to take their final bow at our school, the Harrison Performing Arts Theatre needs new leaders now more than ever. This position provides many opportunities to high school drama members with numerous reasons to join. Theater lovers will have a chance to try out something new, gain more leadership experience, watch their teachings inspire new generations of students, and enjoy a longer drama season to hang out with their theater friends! Ultimately, it’s up to the younger generation of drama lovers to carry on the student director legacy. With inspiration from their directing upperclassmen, there’s nothing these young student directors can’t do.
