On the final week before Winter Break this past December, Eastlake Drama held its annual senior play, titled 24 Hours to Live and Class of ’24. The play had several scenes, each one written and directed by a different senior in Eastlake Drama. The play followed multiple groups of people as they decide how they will spend their final day alive, as a massive asteroid hurtles toward the Earth. Some spend it making up with old friends, some in the arms of their family, some fulfilling dreams they’ve had their whole lives.
These seniors, and all of drama, for that matter, have been dreaming about directing a play for a long time. This play, with each scene directed by a different senior, provides for a lot of new experiences for everyone involved. The seniors all got to experience a whole new angle of being a part of a production, from having that vision of what that final product will look like to struggling to get the actors to see that same vision to finally celebrating their success. Those who directed the play have a newfound respect for the directors and the hard work they put in.
The actors also had a brand new experience, as they got to work with first-time directors, as well as learning to work with a new directing style compared to the other, more permanent, Eastlake Staff directors. Shows like the senior play and dramafest are also how the drama program tends to introduce newer actors to the big stage, as they emulate the fall and spring musicals in a lower pressure environment.
