Seniors had the amazing opportunity to direct their own plays at Davis! This taught them the importance of leadership and gave them a chance to see how plays are brought to life in a different perspective!

A few of everyone’s favorite plays were The Mirror, Lafayette, and Little Women.  All this students loved this opportunity to be a leader, and to see what it’s like to have all that power of being a director, which in all reality just made them appreciate directors so much more.

Starting off with The Mirror Gehrit Gilson’s description of the play was, “Susan Conners decides the only option she has left is to attempt suicide but this leaves her in a coma. While in the coma a helpful mentor shows her scenes from her life that may have put her in a depressive state of mind. In the end Susan must decide if she wants to keep living or if she wants to die. Through a story of realistic sadness but also a simplistic glimpse of hope among all troubles, we learn that the world carries much more goodness than it does bad even when we cannot see it clearly.”

Danica Arnold directed The Mirror, and she said, “I learned a lot about how to direct which seems obvious but, made me a better actor myself because I’m working in the minds of 12 other people and creating my own vision through them. It also taught me a lot about letting go of control because art is subjective, and the actor will never do a scene the same way I would and that’s why its special.”

Gehrit Gilson also directed another favorite play, “Lafayette” He also said that “Getting the opportunity to work with my cast was such an amazing and unforgettable experience.” In Gehrit’s words his play is about how, “The yellow fever epidemic ravages the streets of 1816 New Orleans, no one thinks of the orphans known as the Forgotten–except for Lizzie Landry. Lizzie brings bread from her mother’s kind employer to the band of homeless youths she’s befriended, even though local police and politicians consider them nothing but a nuisance. But when the epidemic entangles Lizzie’s fate with those of the Forgotten, they all must band together to hold the city accountable for their most vulnerable citizens”

Another favorite was Little women by Ellie Palmer It’s about a sister’s love for one another and overcoming trials. Ellie said “It was the biggest privilege to direct it, and a dream come true to watch it on stage! The cast was brilliant, crew was awesome, and I loved every second.”

This was a huge leadership learning experience and really gave all the seniors directing their own plays an idea of what’s it like to be an actual director. A lot of the seniors also said that this experience helped them see acting in a different light which make them better actors themselves because of that.