News

This fall marks the 16th year of “Take 10,” North Shore’s annual short play festival where students take full ownership of the creative process. What began as a series of professionally published 10-minute plays has evolved into a showcase of entirely student-written and directed pieces. From casting and rehearsals to designing sets, props and costumes, student directors bring their visions from page to stage through the Directing Studio course.

“The goal of the course is to focus not only on basic directing technique, but also how to tell a story using visuals, sound and lights,” said theater teacher Julia Macholl. “The real-world skills of problem solving, time management and empathy all come to the forefront of the ‘Take 10’ process, and students have said it’s one of the most valuable courses in their time at NSCD.”

For Lily Burek ’28, stepping into the director’s role is both exciting and daunting. Her play, “The Jello Incident,” is a comedic play about an escaped convict going into an interview at a jello advertising company.

“I’m really excited to see this play come together and become an onstage production,” Lily said. “It’s a little scary taking on a full production and relying on others to memorize blocking and lines, but I’m honestly so happy I was given this opportunity at NSCD to write and direct a play.”

As she prepared for auditions earlier this week, Lily pictured “the ideal actor for each role” and looked for students with strong comedic timing and the confidence to make bold choices. “Because my play is a comedy, I mainly want to emphasize the funny one-liners to create a lighthearted mood,” she said.

Sasha Shtayner ’28 is directing “Benny’s (Not So Big) Break,” a comedy about an aspiring actor who schemes his way toward the Met Gala. “Usually I’m more focused on being an actor on stage, but this class gave me insight into all the behind-the-scenes work,” she said. “It’s also made me a better actor because I now understand what directors have to do.”

Like Lily, Sasha paid close attention during auditions, even though students were reading from other scripts. “I was taking notes on body language, tone and how people interacted with each other,” she said. “My roles need bold, comedic actors, so I was looking for that confidence.”

The casting process itself can be competitive. With multiple directors vying for the same talent, negotiation is part of the experience. “There was one actor everyone wanted this year,” Sasha said with a laugh. “We fought about it for a while, but in the end, everyone got a good mix of actors.”

For Sasha, one of the most exciting parts of the process is collaborating with classmates she doesn’t yet know well. “I’m really excited to get to know my cast and see how they interpret the script,” she said. “And I love fashion, so costuming will be really fun.”

Elizabeth Laabs ’27, who directed last year, said the experience left a lasting impact. Her play centered on a chaotic kitchen staff scrambling to impress a food critic. “I’d never really done directing before or even thought about it as something I’d want to do,” she said. “It was nice to get to learn how and see the backstage element. It made me have more admiration for directors.”

She admitted that one of the biggest challenges was motivating actors to prepare. “Sometimes you can tell somebody something a hundred times and they’ll still do it their own way,” she said. “I learned that it’s okay to adjust and also to incorporate your actors’ own ideas into the character.”

Looking back, Elizabeth said the biggest takeaway was confidence. “Definitely my ability as a leader, to control a group of people,” she said. Her advice for this year’s directors: “Keep pushing until you get the result you want. People always have more in them than they think.”

The Take 10 Play Festival will take place Monday, October 20, with free performances at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the auditorium.