This spring, the Wayland High School Drama department is presenting a unique opportunity — a compilation of 5 one-act plays called 5 Stories Up. But, instead of directing the plays himself, this year Richard Weingartner is giving students the opportunity to direct.

The plays are The Actor’s Nightmare, directed by Alex Romania (written by Jerry Zaks), Women and Wallace, directed by Sherry Ng (written by Jonathon Mark Sherman), Aria Da Capo, directed by Corey Vogel (written by Edna St. Vincent Millay), and Pullman car Hiawatha, directed by Andy Rakich (written by Thornton Wilder), all WHS students. The fifth one-act, Savage Love, will be directed by Jere Babst (written by Sam Shepard), who is a student director from Emerson College and who is pursuing his master’s degree. He is interning under the direction of Richard Weingartner.

While Mr. Weingartner is not directing this year, he is, however, helping out each director, and he is teaching them the craft. Weingartner is still leading regular warm-ups, helping out with costumes, and building set pieces. But this year he is conducting actor sessions with all the actors, as well as director seminars with directors.

Mr. Weingartner felt that it was important for students to direct plays. He wanted students to have had the experience of being on stage and to use their directing and acting skills in a new way. “The job of the actor and directors is to co-create the story. It’s not the director’s job to order people around; the actor has to come in and apply their knowledge to the story as well,” said Weingartner. “The actor has to be prepared physically, vocally, and emotionally for the director’s vision. The director needs to articulate this vision as well.”

Although Mr. Weingartner has given students the opportunity to direct some Winter Stories plays, the plays for this spring will be different from what you have seen in years past. Many of the directors have taken a Theater Arts or Dramatic Arts course with Weingartner and have received hands-on help from him. They have even been in many of Mr. Weingartner’s performances. The directors are experienced both in and out of the class.

The four WHS directors have much stage experience. We have seen them dance, act, and sing, but, now it is time for them to switch from the lead in the play to the leader of the play. “I’ve been in every single play since freshman year, so I wanted to try something different,” said Sherry Ng. “I’ve never actually directed a play, and I wanted a completely different experience. I wanted to do something like this before I graduate from high school.”

The four students have learned some key strategies for being a director, but they still want to learn more. “I’ve been learning a lot of things just by working with the actors,” said Corey Vogel. “But one thing I want to learn is to connect the things that are in my head to other people, and introduce them to a story and have them perform it. Of course, that’s a learning experience for everyone. There is no way that it isn’t.”

All five of these directors are ready and eager to learn Richard Weingartner’s secrets of directing. “I want the directors to learn that the director has to be open and respectful to each actor and help them articulate the play’s right intentions,” explains Weingartner. “That the stage director is a visual artist, he or she needs to physically articulate the needs of the story so the audience understands.”

Sherry Ng’s play, Woman and Wallace, a dark comedy, is about a 19-year-old boy named Wallace (played by Seth Harper) whose mother killed herself when he was six. This memory of Wallace’s mother’s death keeps Wallace from ever really getting close to women because he has this notion that all the women he meets will abandon him. The play follows him as he attempts to salvage various relationships with women.

Andy Rakich’s play, Pullman car Hiawatha, is a story of passengers on a train on its way from New York City to Chicago. The death of a young woman transports the train on an intense journey to the paranormal and theological unknown, and to an experience unlike anything you’ve ever known. These passengers are in for one wild night.

Corey Vogel’s play, Aria Da Capo, is a story within a story. The first story (the frame story) is about a couple with a love-hate relationship. Half way through the play, things rapidly change gears, and the story switches focus to two shepherds who build a wall between their pastures; both become jealous of what the other has.

The theme of Alex Romania’s play, The Actor’s Nightmare, is about the fear of being unready. It’s represented by an accountant (played by Justin Billing) who has a nightmare about being an actor thrown into famous plays throughout the century with famous actors and actresses. The frightening part is that he has never been to a rehearsal, and he doesn’t know his lines.

Jere Babst’s play, Savage Love, is a collection of poems and monologues that are about the desire for human connection. This play shows how people need each other and the desire to be connected with each other.

These plays will be performed in the Wayland high School Little Theater April 9th through the 12th at 7:30 PM, except Thursday’s play, which will begin at 4:00 PM due to town meeting. On Wednesday and Friday, the performances will be Savage Love, Aria Da Capo, and Pullman car Hiawatha. On Thursday and Saturday, the performances will be Woman and Wallace and The Actor’s Nightmare. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Tickets will be sold during high school lunches in the Commons, at the door, and on the Wayland Drama website, www.waylanddrama.net. Two nights of art; why would you ever give up a once in a lifetime opportunity like this?