Laughs echo through the air during rehearsals for Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) shows. These short plays are directed by seniors, and make up the Starlight Theatre Company’s (STC) second show block of the year.

TYA shows are the seniors first time taking on the role of director. This show block is an eye-opening experience to the student directors who are able to experience the full weight for putting on an entire show by yourself.

“Being a director is stressful because you have so much to do,” senior director Ellie Nowlin said. “You’re in charge of everything, you have to cast the show, cut the script, do the costumes, and more. It’s all been so much fun, but it’s definitely a lot of work.”

Being brand new to directing, the seniors use their freshness to bring new ideas to their shows. Their unique methods for dealing with obstacles allows for them to learn and grow from the experience.

“I’m impressed every year, because they come in with this level of enthusiasm,” theatre teacher Matthew Humphrey said. “This being their first play that they’ve ever directed, everything is so fresh to them. I love seeing how they handle adversity, and mold their creative vision to the people they have at their disposal.”

This is also the seniors first time being in a position other than an actor, experiencing a new point of view from an authority role allows them to see the entirety of the work that is put into shows.

“They gain a lot of perspective from the whole process of applying for the TYA shows and going through the audition process as well,” Humphrey said. “There’s a great amount of growth, and they start seeing things the way that we, as directors, see things.”

Nowlin, director of Frog and Toad went through three years prior to being a director. Seeing how different students direct and being an assistant director her junior year.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many directors throughout my years,” Nowlin said. “Taking bits and pieces of what they did. I’ve seen what works well, which has helped me be the best director I can be.”

Children’s shows are not only performed at Bowie, but also at nearby elementary and middle schools, in hopes of introducing theatre to kids who have no access to such programs. The senior directors arrange these days and communicate with the schools.

“Theatre has never been stressful for me,” Nowlin said. “I don’t know if it will be as a director, but it’s always just so much fun to see the kids and meet them and see how they enjoy the show.”

The directors are enrolled in theatre three-four, meaning their class is a mix of junior assistant directors and senior directors. During this class period, they are able to work on the technical elements of their show, as well as arrange touring dates.

“I love that it gives a lot of opportunity to work with people,” Nowlin said. “To work with your assistant directors, and getting to know all the upperclassmen helps build a really good bond for the leaders.”

Due to the large number of shows, each show typically has a small cast, less than 15 students, making them an opportunity for tight bonds among actors and directors to form.

“With TYA shows, you get to know the directors more,” sophomore actress Rae Bagnall said. “It’s a deepening of those relationships, and you get to know the seniors really well.”

The TYA structure of students directing students allows for actors such as Bagnall to feel more comfortable at rehearsal. Most seniors have already had chances to bond with their actors in previous show blocks, creating a strong bond between them.

“I feel like a senior director is a lot easier to talk to about things,” Bagnall said. “I feel that way partly because you’re all students, so you can be more relaxed with them, and I feel like they’re a lot more open to commenting on your acting, giving tips, or telling what they liked.”

Senior directors this year have approached their shows differently to those in the past. They focus not only on their actors, but also all of the technical elements of their show, such as lights, sounds, costumes, and set.

“They have a talent in seeing the show as a whole,” Humphrey said. “Thinking about the show as a whole and making sure that the lights and the sounds and the props and the costumes and everything is the way that they want it to be, it’s a huge responsibility, but I think that they deal with it admirably, and I’m always so impressed with the end products.”

After weeks of hard work, the seniors get to share their creative visions with others. The shows were put on across a total of three days, with each show performing twice. 

“I think they turned out amazing,” sophomore actress London Sherman said. “I really enjoyed watching all of my friends perform, and it’s always cool to see the senior director’s visions come to life. It’s also crazy to think about the amount of progress that was made in such a short amount of time, starting from just a script to a fully fledged show.”