![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Auditions for Student Directed Showcase take place
Kayvon Solaimanpour, one of this year’s senior student directors, performs in last year’s Student Directed Showcase. SDS will take place on Jan. 6 and 7.
October 6, 2016
Auditions for Student Directed Showcase (SDS) invited students of all grades, regardless of experience in theater, to be cast in one of four shows in the Patil Performing Arts Wing last Monday and Tuesday.
During lunch, students auditioning for SDS waited outside of the student directors’ teacher and mentor, Laura Lang Ree’s room for their one-minute performance to demonstrate their skills. The four shows, The Importance of Being Earnest, Removing the Glove, Grover, Dystopia!, are directed by Sana Aladin, Emre Ezer, Chetana Kalidindi, and Kayvon Solaimanpour, respectively. Many performers and teachers are enthusiastic about the storylines and its unique characters.
“The shows are wonderful, and there are such good varieties of plot twists and interesting shows and so much for students to sink their teeth into as young actors,” Lang-Ree said. “They are going to have a great time, and the directors are just wonderful.”
The process of preparing for this year’s showcase is the same as it was in previous years. However, the overall themes of the plays the directors have chosen this year are different from those of last year’s selections.
“This year there are all comedies and last year there were some dramas, which is interesting, but I’m excited anyway,” Ellie Lang-Ree (10) said.
The audition process began with students selecting a monologue from a list provided by the directors. The students entered the audition in groups of five, each performing for one minute. In callbacks, which took place after school on Wednesday, the directors selected different actors and actresses, based on their auditions, to perform specific roles in each of their shows.
“It’s quite a complicated process, but to begin with, we put all the auditions into several 10 minute slots to get a feel of what we want each person called back for,” Emre Ezer (12) said. “In the callbacks, which usually takes place the day after auditions end, we divide all the actors into three big time chunks. In each time chunk, each of the directors get a number of the actors and we have the actors read scenes from our shows.”
The directors looked for passionate and hard-working performers in the process of casting students to roles
“Mostly, I want to cast people who are hardworking and enthusiastic, and who have unique ideas about the show but are also able to take notes well,” Sana Aladin (12) said.
The two performances of the shows will take place on Jan. 6 and 7.
