The shows of SET 2019

Written by Celia Ahern, "Love Rosie" was directed and arranged by senior Anna Schloerb for SET. This piece in particular was divided into three scenes interspersed throughout the show. "Love Rosie" told the story of two friends, Rosie and Alex, and their relationship during three stages of their lives — childhood, teenage years and adulthood — as their paths diverge. Senior Isha Sing...

Written by senior Nicholas Merchant and sophomore Jasmine Tan, "Enough is Enough" tells the comedic story of Mr. Long, a Shakespeare teacher who has a breakdown in the middle of class after realizing that his students have no regard or appreciation for Shakespeare's works. Yet, through interaction with a particularly disruptive student, Mr. Long finds purpose in making his students love Shakespear...

Written and directed by junior Henrik Nielsen, Blackout tells the story of a mother who begins to question her children's existence during a power-outage. Harrowingly and with deep emotion, she contemplates existentialism. According to sophomore Elena Stern, she was challenged by memorization and timing in tandem with increasing her own emotion to portray terror. "The  monologue was not only d...

Written by senior Nicholas Merchant, "Life of Dog" tells the story of a dog, Max, who wakes up one morning to find that he is human. After following his owner, Olivia, to work and getting her fired, he tries fervently to fix the situation and heartwarmingly illustrates his loyalty for her. Senior Alyssa Russell, who played Olivia, felt that the scene's comedic nature and her rapport with her fell...

Written by Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein, "Medea" was directed by senior Dania Baig for SET. The scene is distinctive in its being a play within a play. Medea, played by senior Isha Singh, decides she wants to kill her former love, Jason, as well as her children. That along with Medea's wish to sleep with her brother shows the scene's hilarity in its satire of Greek plays. Senior T...

Written by Paul T. Gantt and directed by senior Riley Kay for SET, "Girls Must Talk" tells the story of four mannequins in a shop window and their relationship with the clueless shopkeepers who dress them, the ultimate punchline being that the shopkeepers are the "dummies," not the mannequins. Senior Lily Vag-Urminsky said she channeling her character's outspoken nature was a challenge. "A ...

Written and directed by Nicholas Merchant, "Please Go Away, Sir David Attenborough" tells the story of a girl, Bree, on a date that is being narrated by broadcaster and historian David Attenborough. When sophomore Elena Stern, who plays Bree, was preparing for her role, she focused on finding connections to reality in order to connect with her character. "What really helped me click with ...

Written by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, "Can I Use This Chair?" was directed by senior Dania Baig for SET. Heavily based on comedic timing, this scene follows Danny, a man in an audition room whose monologue involves continually asking if he can use a chair and getting worked up when he gets no response, so when the casting directors continually answer the question, his frustrations heighten. Sen...

Written by sophomore Jasmine Tan and directed by Jasmine and senior Nicholas Merchant, "Pizza Delivery" tells the story of a socially isolated man, Daniel, who begins an accidental friendship with his pizza delivery man. Senior Tommy Hsee, who plays Daniel, found that because the nature of his scene was so focused on his emotional experience, he was able to highlight his acting abilities thro...

Written by senior Alex Stevanovich and directed by junior Caroline Taylor, "Te Ne Peux Pas Me Voir" tells the story of Ross, a boy who attempts to woo girls by pretending to be a magical creature that only beautiful, special people can see. Senior Jacob Beiser, who played Ross, said that the comedic nature of the scene allowed him to sink into his character. "Playing that character was very fun be...

Written by senior Olivia Pon and directed by junior Henrik Nielsen, "Hello Again" is the story of Dawn and Arthur, two soulmates who can never be living at the same time — while Arthur is alive on Earth, Dawn cannot be. When they meet between lives, Dawn is reluctant to let Arthur begin a new life again because they'd be separated once more. Yet, by the end, Arthur releases her to go live, seemi...