The spotlight rises, but this time, it’s not a teacher calling the shots. It’s senior Leo Sobczyn — standing just offstage, script in hand, shaping each scene with their own vision. After years of memorizing lines, hitting marks, and learning from the wings, Leo has stepped into a new role: one with a clipboard and a seat just offstage. Now, they’re the one guiding actors and shaping scenes to bring a story to life.

When Leo first walked into former theater teacher Jeffrey Draper’s Study of Theater as a frosh, they had no idea how profoundly it would shape their high school journey. Although they had always loved making connections and were interested in theater, taking the introductory course transformed a simple curiosity into a defining part of their high school experience. Leo was drawn to this particular class because of its engaging curriculum and the opportunity it provided to let loose.

“It was the passion it was taught with and then also the freedom,” Leo said. “Draper was excited every day about what he’d be teaching us. And so that made me excited. On top of that, the projects were really fun to work on with my classmates.”

Inspired by this experience and with Draper’s encouragement, Leo joined the theater program in their sophomore year. Their initial worries about entering a year later than usual were offset by the tight-knit community that welcomed them. Late-night rehearsals and lunch-time run-throughs offered them the chance to really get to know their peers, even those in different grade levels.

“At first it’s a little nerve-wracking trying to get into it because you’re like, ‘They’re going to be so much better than me,’” Leo said. “But as soon as you join it’s a bunch of really sweet people who are amazing to be around. I love the friends I’ve made and it’s been awesome learning from a lot of different walks of life.”

As a senior, Leo is a producer and director for the Student Directed Showcase, which features a series of one-act student-led plays. Taking on this leadership role has allowed Leo to transition from an actor’s perspective to a director’s perspective, which has offered a lot of opportunities for growth. Close friend senior Avayna Glass, who is also an SDS director this year, reflects on experiencing this journey with them.

“We get to express our creativity in a space and collaborate and give each other feedback,” Avayna said. “Leo does bring a lot of joy. He’s very creative and inspired; he’s always wanting to do something. We almost started a band a couple of months ago. He’s a very creative person who loves to have a creative outlet.”

Beyond character development and creativity, theater has taught Leo the art of improvisation, a skill they apply in several areas of their life. Improvisation and adaptation help them conquer moments of self-doubt and maintain confidence, even in the face of difficult odds.

“It’s really hard to go through life with a plan and sticking to it,” Leo said. “You have to always adapt, and it’s a really useful skill I learned from theater. I did not think I had it in me to be an actor or get up on stage and perform in front of a ton of people. But I learned by doing just that.”

Off stage, Leo exhibits a willingness to learn in the classroom as well. Biology teacher Thomas Artiss appreciates their willingness to cooperate with others and demonstrate leadership. It can be difficult to walk the line between interacting with peers and maintaining focus, but to Leo, this delicate balance comes naturally.

“They relate well to everyone,” Artiss said. “He is genuinely caring and compassionate, and he has this ability to make you feel like you are the most important person in the room. They have a warm personality and contagious smirk when he finds something amusing. All of this is engaging to other students. So while they can be professional and focused on a lab or group project, they can also make others in the group get involved.”

Their infectious ability to believe in themselves and others inspires their close friends, like senior Haden Andrews, who met Leo in sixth grade when they sang together at lunch. Leo has met many people through theater, but some of their most important friendships have continued since before high school.

“Leo helps bring out my humor and my willingness to try new things and not care what people think,” Haden said. “When I think of Leo, I think of laughter and someone who’s really light-hearted. It’s a sense of comfort. I always know when I’m with Leo, he’s going to make sure I’m good and I’m happy and I really appreciate that. He’s really selfless.”

Beyond motivating their friends, Leo wants to inspire their community to remain open to new experiences. Oftentimes, students feel weighed down by the pressure of academics, but Leo underscores the importance of maintaining balance. Having dealt with challenges during high school, like an ankle injury during the most crucial months of rehearsals, Leo emerged on top and prioritized important commitments. 

“I want to leave a legacy of enthusiasm for high school,” Leo said. “I want people to be excited about being a teenager because a lot of the time here, we’re throwing away a lot of those opportunities to make friends and make connections and have fun times that aren’t related to school.”