This evening, the Theatre Arts department excitedly opens their senior showcase, known as Senior Scenes. The scenes will be performed twice, the first beginning at 3 p.m. and the second at 6 p.m. in the Black Box Theater. Admission for both shows is free.
Senior Scenes is the annual opportunity for theater seniors to have a moment in the director’s chair as they put on small scenes from a number of plays. This year, Senior Scenes will showcase work from Theatre seniors Ridge Murphree, Joshua Rauterkus, Justin Duncan, Campbell Pate, Ashtyn Smith, McKinley Beavers, and Oliver Hjetland. Beavers will have the wonderful opportunity to produce a scene written by herself entitled “Crazy Train.”
All of the scenes are handpicked by the seniors after a strenuous month of searching for the perfect material. This requires a search through “the world of the play” in which the directors must understand the time period, the necessary props, and other aspects. After choosing what they’d like to perform they hold auditions to cast their underclassmen in their performances. They began rehearsals mid-October and have been continually working to perfect their scenes.
The seniors, aside from being directors, are in charge of their own costume design, lighting, and all the other behind-the-scenes details that go into getting the most out of their scenes. The final week is dedicated to a full run-through of the show.
Joshua Rauterkus notes the amount of support and effort the seniors have received from the rest of the department, saying, “The way [Senior Scenes] advertised is talking about the seniors, but I think people should also appreciate kind of the work that the underclassmen in our department and everyone involved has put in to make this all happen. We have amazing stage managers and the crew ... all of our actors, of course. It is kind of a combined effort of the entire department.”
After speaking with this year’s seniors, they’ve expressed the amount of effort and care that goes into such a massive production and what the opportunity means for them. All of the seniors have had to work crew or participate in senior scenes in the previous years. This moment of finally becoming a director of these scenes is something that many of them have been looking forward to.
Ridge Murphree says, “It’s kind of a culmination of what we’ve learned as actors trying to pass that on to our cast. To the Theatre department, I think it’s a big deal, especially to seniors. And it’s a really big deal for underclassmen to get cast.”
McKinley Beavers is especially excited as she says, “It’s really great to have creative control, especially as a student ... and to be able to create stuff for younger audiences. My piece focuses on topics that younger age groups can understand.”
Many of the seniors, having been cast in scenes years prior, look to this event as a final bow. “Now that I’m in this position and seeing it all come together ... this is about to end," says Ashtyn Smith. "This is one of the last marks I can leave on this school. This process, as fun as it’s been, has been also kind of sad. It feels like the start to the end.”
Seniors also say what they want people to take away from the experience or what they’re most excited for the audience to see. “I am definitely most excited to seeing the finished product after rehearsing with my cast,” Justin Duncan comments.
Campbell Pate shares a bit about her own scene, saying, “Women in the South are kind of taught to be polite and quiet about things ... the opportunity to get to share that message is really exciting to me. We really are in control of what is happening creatively and what the audience gets to see.” As a disclaimer to those planning to attend, Pate’s scene does contain themes of rape.
Oliver Hjetland also clued into his work, mentioning its comedic tone. “What I’m going for is just to leave my audience feeling good. I think, through these positive emotions, I can just connect with my audience ... and have a good experience overall.”
They advise the audience to “be on their toes.” The seniors would like people to leave feeling inspired and connected. Each scene creates a mountain of different emotions, and the seniors are looking forward to the audience’s feedback and reaction.
Unfortunately, due to space, seating for the performances is limited. Audience members are advised to arrive as early as possible. The Theatre Arts department can’t wait to see everyone there.
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