My Most Difficult Assignment

The hardest assignment I have ever had to complete was last semester, for directing II. Our final project of the semester was to cast and direct a forty five minute long one act play. Not only was it my first time attempting to direct something longer than five minutes, but I had to find the time to work with my actors, in addition to my other classes and homework. Our professor watched a few rehearsals to see how we were doing, but he gave no advice or input, leaving us completely on our own. We had gotten some practical experience in directing the short scenes we had done that semester, and the semester before in Directing I, but the scope of the project was so much larger than anything we had done previously, it was definitely an experience of learning by doing.


Managing the stress was definitely a challenge, but my classmate was an enormous help in this. We would often meet and talk about our experiences and what we found difficult or confusing about each rehearsal, and trade ideas and advice in how to make things easier on ourselves. We also watched each others rehearsals, so that we could get input on if the direction we were taking the play made sense, or was translating in what the actors were doing. I also learned that by planning everything I would be doing at least a week in advance, I felt much more prepared for every rehearsal, which in turn let me focus more easily on what I was creating in the moment, knowing that as long as I stuck to the schedule, I would have time to get everything done.





While the experience was creatively and mentally exhausting, it was incredibly rewarding. Watching the play transform from words on paper to something that people could watch and enjoy was one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. Watching the two actors on stage at our showing of the one acts, and knowing that it was through my creative choices and guidance that their performance went in the direction that it did was an indescribable feeling. This project taught me to manage my time well, and to force myself to be productive in the time that I did have in a way that I had never been able to before. I’m glad I decided to take the class,