S.E.T. to present works written, directed by students
Liam DeJong and Charlotte Henderson rehearse “There’s No Here Here” with one of their directors, Natalie Hultquist. The other director was Caroline Taylor, and the scene was written by playwright Craig Pospisil.
Featuring five student-written pieces and four other works, the Student Experimental Theater will showcase nine scenes spanning two acts in the Sherry Lansing Theater on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and March 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Student works include “Adam and Eve” by senior Henrik Nielsen, “Watcher of the Eternal Flame” by senior Leland Culver, “Matchmaker” by senior Elena Stern, “Back to the Past” by junior Jasmine Tan and “Game Restart” by senior Ace Zhang.
Reflecting on the process of writing “Back to the Past,” Jasmine said, “Coming up with natural dialogue is really hard especially when it comes to writing comedy scenes because you have to find a way to incorporate the jokes without making it seem unnatural or weird.”
Jasmine also directs the scene, and she said Directing, a dramatic arts course with drama teacher Liucija Ambrosini, helped her with staging and moving the scene along.
The performance opens with “Adam and Eve.” Henrik said he began writing the scene in October and spent about two hours in total to finish it.
I just think that as we have been progressing, we have become more experienced on how to manage each others’ schedules and accommodate each other
“It was kind of on the back burner. Whenever I didn’t have homework, I would pipe some new stuff into it,” Henrik said.
Sophomore Kara Tao, director of “Adam and Eve,” said rehearsals have been running very smoothly, and she is surprised how organized the other directors are.
Each group is responsible for a scene and rehearses after school.
“I just think that as we have been progressing, we have become more experienced on how to manage each others’ schedules and accommodate each other,” Kara said.
Student Experimental Theater is run by the students who write and direct the scenes. The board consists of Henrik, Jasmine, Leland, senior Caroline Taylor and sophomores Inga Domenick and Juliet Di Teresa.
Kara said, “It’s definitely a great experience to learn how to coordinate with every part of theater, and I think that working with the actors has really changed my perception on how to be a really good leader.”
