There may not have been a show this week in the McIntosh auditorium if senior Sarah Rapson hadn’t stepped up and asked drama teacher Michele Stone if she could direct a show. The Advanced Drama Class did a one act play, “The Swimmer” earlier this fall, breaking in the new auditorium for the drama department but Rapson didn’t want to wait for the spring musical to close out her high school career. Bitten by the directing bug after siting at the helm of a one act play, “Class Action,” last year, she spent the summer reading plays, searching for a show that she’d like to direct this fall. She found “The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” and approached her teacher, who gave her permission to helm the show.

“Sarah has a terrific passion for the theatre and it really shows in and out of class,” said Stone, who added that Rapson is the President of the school’s chapter of the International Thespian Society and, as such, alng with the other Thespian officers, runs club. “If a student expresses an interest in any particular area of theatre (directing, writing, design, construction, acting, etc.), I try to find or make opportunities to teach them about that area and to give them practical experience actually doing it.”

Stone added that while taking on a project like this gives the student practical experience it also teaches them skills such as time management, teamwork, critical thinking skills, organization and interpersonal communication.

“i think it’s udeful too for the students to have a clear understanding of how complex the process of production is and how important it is for each person involved to work hard,” said Stone.

Rapson and her cast have learned all of those lessons since the process of putting the show together began and, most importantly, they have had a good time while learning.

“This show is a lot of fun,” said Rapson, who held auditions for the show back in October and has been working on it ever since. The play, which covers all of Shakespeare’s plays with 36 plays being covered in the first act and “Hamlet,” which is the longest of his plays, taking up the second act, has a three person cast but Rapson opened it up by casting four sets of three actors, who will rotate performances throughout the run. Rapson wanted to bring out the best performances of each cast and has seen a light competition to be the cast that gets to perform opening night really bring out the best in her actors. Opening night will serve as a benefit for Pascagoula High School, a school in Louisiana that was hurt by Hurricane Katrina. The Art, Debate and Graphic Arts clubs have joined in on the benefit by offering an Empty Bowls dinner. The art club made the bowls and the debate club will fill them with soup. After a soup dinner, the audience will attend the show. All of the proceeds from that night’s performance and any other donations that come in that weekend will go to the high school in Louisiana.

The process of directing a two act show has been going fairly well for Rapson, who stated that there have only been a few minor complications with the set to deal with thus far. She has been able to keep her cool while dealing with cast members who have missed rehearsals or dropped lines and added that she has the cream of the crop in her cast.

“The have a lot of energy and are very talented,” said Rapson.

The cast features a good mix of the student body, as there are freshmen and sophomores involved as well as upperclassmen. Rapson has had help from assistant director Jaye Bell and stage manager Alex Boswell and added that Stone has been very valuable, giving her advice on stage direction and character development, as well as purchasing set materials, booking the auditorium and giving up some class time for the cast to work on the set.

As showtime approaches, there will likely be a lot more for Rapson to contend with, but she appears ready to attack any obstacles with a cool demeanor and a smile.

“One of the best things about directing is being able to see a performance from all angles,” Rapson said, adding that seeing the blocking she created or the guidance she offered have an impact is a wonderful experience.

Everything that comes up is a learning experience with the senior, who has her sights set on attending Young Harris College and majoring in theatre. before college arrives though, Rapson is hoping to direct one more show and perhaps sharing control with another student so that she can get back on stage. She is also planning on producing children’s shows with Bell at their churches and is hoping to bring a talent show to the McIntosh stage and a Teachers vs. Students improv night before the end of the year.

Some seniors experience a “senior slide” in their final year, which is represented by a sense of apathy and a desire to just get out of school. Rapson appears to be a student who is looking to build up the drama program that she was a part of for the last four years and to go out with a bang.

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