By Trevor Baty
The house lights go down. The cast walks out. For senior directors Emma Conroy and Cory Brannaman, this is the moment of truth. Two and a half months of leading rehearsals and giving directions culminates in this moment, the start of their show. Did they do enough? It’s time to find out.

Every year a “senior show” is performed by the thespians at MVHS. This show is first chosen, then directed by a senior. This year, the show was directed by a team: Emma Conroy, acting director, and Cory Brannaman, music director. However, to get to the directing, the two had to plan almost a year in advance.

“Emma approached me during the spring of last year, I’m not sure exactly when,” said Cory. “She had her basic outline and plan for the show, and she asked me to kind of be the music director for the show. We then collectively mixed and created a combined vision to propose to Mr. Stephens, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Brand.”

Although the senior directed show is student-selected, the process is a little bit more complicated than simply selecting a show. The show has to be approved first by English teacher Tom Stephens, and then approved by principal Brand and Activities Director Joe Wallace. Seniors that are interested are asked to write a paper and basic outline for the show they want to present. In it they detail their idea for the production, why they chose the piece, why they want to be a director, and their set design.

All this is done by March, meaning Cory and Emma were thinking nearly a year ahead of the start of their potential show. Emma decided she wanted to present “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The show is a comedy about a diverse group of adolescents that participate in a county spelling bee.

“’Putnam’ is one of my favorite shows,” said Emma. “I love comedy, and I find the fact that adults play kids absolutely hilarious. On top of the comedy though, I think there is an important lesson. ‘Putnam’ shows us how different everyone is and that to be happy we just have to embrace who we are.”

Cory was on board with the plan from the start, and not too long after that the show got the thumbs up. For the next eight months or so, Emma and Cory talked here and there about the show, continuously expanding their idea for the show, gearing up for auditions and the process that comes with rehearsals.

By the time December rolled around, Emma and Cory were prepared for auditions. This time however, they’d be on the other side of the table. Auditions were held the week before winter break, which would allow the cast time to look over their script before rehearsal.

“I was looking forward to the experience,” said Cory. “It was a little harder than I expected though, selecting out of my friends and peers was difficult. I just had to be objective and throw the friend part aside.”

“I was very happy with how many people tried out. It was fun just to see the different takes on a character,” said Emma. “It was hard to select, especially with all the auditions.”

Eventually the cast was selected and the work began. The cast alternated music and blocking rehearsals for three weeks, with Cory being the hands behind the piano and Emma being the creative mind behind the staging. The duo quickly found out how difficult it can be to direct, as the whole cast was never completely together until two weeks from the first performance.

Cory offered a few words on the difficulties of directing, “There were a few times when I was a little worried about how the show would turn out. With all of the weather delays we had, we missed out on a few rehearsals. But, we found a way to make up lost time. The show really came together in the last two weeks, and I was very proud of the final product. I definitely enjoyed not having to put make up and a costume on, so that was a plus,” he said.

The cast pulled together in the last two weeks. Run throughs and dress rehearsals, still had plenty of rough patches but the performances showed no signs of that.

“We had a problem with music level on stage,” said Lance Lineburg, technical director for the show. “The cast had a hard time hearing the piano while everyone was singing.”

Still, both performances went without a hitch. The directors were extremely pleased with the performance, and the opportunity they had to direct the show.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” said Cory. “Looking back, sure there are a few things I would have done differently, but the show ended up being a success. I’m a huge fan of comedies, so it was very enjoyable to direct a show that was a crowd-pleaser. Gotta love laughter!”

“I would definitely encourage anyone interested in theatre and the arts to try this experience,” commented Emma. “While it is difficult, and tests your patience, it definitely pays off in the long run.”