Chaotic weddings, strangers trapped in theaters, blind dates, and love vignettes will all come together on stage during this year’s upcoming Senior Directed Showcase (SDS). The Winged Post caught up with the four student directors to get the scoop on what drew them to their respective plays and how the experience has been panning out so far.

Madi Lang-Ree (12) – “We Live Here” by Zoe Kazan

“We Live Here” focuses on a family who experiences the suicide of one of its daughters 13 years earlier. The play chronicles the wedding weekend of the deceased daughter’s twin where characters from the past make unexpected appearances, and hilarity ensues during the chaotic weekend.

Q: How was the process of choosing a play?

Madi Lang-Ree: I probably read over 20 plays this summer, which was a lot. I didn’t narrow it down until late August and then I found this play, and I just fell in love with it.

Q: What drew you to the play?

ML: I really felt connected with the characters. They all really had a story and I felt like their stories needed to be told and that the audience would really connect to them.

Q: How has the experience of directing the show already impacted you?

ML: It’s really impacted me because I’ve done acting my entire life and I’ve never been on the other side of the stage. I want to act in the future, but also, now I’m thinking about teaching and directing.

Zoe Woehrmann (12) – “Exit” by John Dune

“Exit” chronicles the story of five strangers who wake up trapped in a theater and cannot find their way out.

Q: How did you go about choosing a play?

Zoe Woehrmann: I read a bunch of plays over the summer and slowly figured out what type I show I wanted. When I read [this play], I realized I wanted a suspense show and tied together all of the elements I had wanted to find in a play.

Q: What drew you to the play?

ZW: I was looking for a play that wasn’t too complicated, only really tackled one major conflict, and having no one lead but a balance of lines across an ensemble. Plus, the characters are diverse, and I like the writing style.

Q: What has been the most challenging part of the experience so far?

ZW: Figuring out how long to call rehearsal because you don’t know exactly how long each activity or scene is going to take to run, so you have to try and estimate.

Jai Ahuja (12) – “Check Please” by Jonathan Rand

“Check Please” revolves around two characters who venture on several blind dates, revealing just how horribly blind dates can pan out.

Q: How was the process of choosing a play?

Jai Ahuja: Over the summer I read close to 50 plays, trying to figure out which one I wanted to do. This was one of the first plays I read, and every time I read another play, it wasn’t as good as this one. So I kept coming back to it and finally decided that this was the play I wanted to do.

Q: What drew you to the play?

JA: It’s not slapstick humor, but it’s witty and comical. It’s a little over-the-top, but I wanted to do something funny but smart as well.

Q: Has the experience lived up to your expectations so far?

JA: It’s more exciting than I imagined. It’s a lot of fun seeing your show come to life and it’s just really exciting.

Caroline Howells (12) – “Almost Maine” by John Cariani

“Almost Main” features a series of short vignettes about couples falling in and out of love.

Q: How was the process of choosing a play?

Caroline Howells: It was actually recommended to me by a friend at the camp I was at over the summer. The moment I read it, it was so different from everything else I had read, and I had such an instant vision of it in my head that I knew I had to do it.

Q: What drew you to the play?

CH: I think all the scenes I chose out of it have a really accurate representation of what the different sides of relationships can be. I think that everyone can relate to it in this way because everybody loves somebody in their life, whether it’s their family or friends or in a relationship and that’s why I love it so much.

Q: Why did you want to do SDS?

CH: What I’ve always really loved about SDS is that I think it’s a really relaxing environment in which actors can grow. So as opposed to being an actor myself this year, I really want to help other people grow and discover things about themselves that they didn’t know before and just grow as actors and people.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on Nov. 21, 2014.