When my teacher told me that we would be performing The Tempest in my local theatre with a charity that I am so passionate about - I was beyond excited. Her initial idea was to make it Love Island themed, which makes sense as the play is set on an island. However, the more I read of the play, the more it reminded me of The Traitors (which is one of my favourite TV shows at the moment). So, the next day I went to my director and told her about my idea to turn our Love Island theme into a Traitors theme. Safe to say - she loved it.

So rehearsals started and my director came to me and asked me if I would help her direct, as the Traitors theme was my idea. I quickly said yes and started working on how I would run rehearsals and direct scenes. I would mainly just help run the rehearsals and direct the scenes a little however one day my director asked me to direct one of the main scenes for the show as she had to run another rehearsal. I quickly took the task on board and ended up with a lovely scene, in which I managed to get every cast member involved.

The scene turned out very good and everyone enjoyed my rehearsal which for me, is the main ingredient for a successful show. I think having a student director really helped me and my peers as it was easier to connect and work together to build the scene. Although I still acted in the play (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I liked having the experience of student directing as it has helped me as an actor, but has also helped me realise my love for directing.

My 3 top tips on becoming a student director!

1. You need to make sure you are connecting with the director and your peers to ensure that you all work well together in order to create a piece that everyone is happy with. Also, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it, so don’t just leave it all to the director or other student director. You need to do your part as well!
2. Don’t get too distracted. I know you are having fun with your friends (which is great) but one of your main roles is to keep everybody on task (however don’t abuse your authority too much).
3. Have fun! Don’t forget - you are there to have fun too, not just the actors. Take this opportunity to learn techniques you can use in acting and directing and make some memories that will last a lifetime!

Mathilde
Youth Board Member