Sarah C. (12) directed her first play as part of the Honor Theatre Class project.

Blue & Gold sat down with her as she shared her experiences as a first time director.

What’s your play about, in a nutshell?

It’s a short series of blind dates that couldn’t get any worse – until they do.

What do you think about directing now that you’ve done it yourself?

I never expected the directing process to be so tiring. From selecting my own cast to laying out the entire play to my own taste… it’s just a lot of work. I guess I now have a greater respect to all the directors out there. (laughs)

Do you prefer acting or directing? 

I’d go with acting. Although directing was a great experience, there’s a lot less things to worry about when you act.

Which do you think is harder to write, comedy or tragedy? 

Definitely comedy. It’s so hard to make people laugh through writing. You have to get all the timing, dialogue and everything else to fit perfectly together to produce five seconds of laughter.

What do you look for in an actor when you select the cast? 

The thing I look for the most from a potential actor is how fast he or she is able to pick up my cues. It is extremely important to keep the process of the play production going. But when actors keep forgetting the cues that I told them, we have to go through the same scene over and over again. It wastes a lot of time.

What was the most difficult challenge you faced while directing the play? 

I don’t know if you’ve seen a script before, but the script literally only has the dialogue. Everything else, such as the setting, acting, pacing, lighting, and etc., has to be specified by the director. Check, Please, is about blind dates. I had the hardest time choosing whether I should make my actors sit down, like what most people would do on dates, or make them dance on top of tables.

Did you enjoy the experience? 

Yeah, I enjoyed this experience a lot. I had the most fun when we were fooling around to be as ridiculously weird as possible just to experiment which had the best comedic appeal.

Some advice for other aspiring student directors? 

Don’t shut yourself out from other people’s suggestions. I know you’re the director and you feel like you’re in control, but this advice might turn out to really improve your show.