Every year for two nights, WHS students, their families and teachers alike come to the main stage to watch the annual Senior Show. While they laugh at the numerous dances and skits, very few audience members will think about the amount of effort and planning necessary to make those two performances possible.
Senior Show is primarily organized by students, with the help of class advisers and the administration. The 2013 class advisers are Jessica Imbornone, Corey Lowen and Heidi Friedlander.
This year, students interested in having a leadership role in organizing the show filled out an application that is given to the senior E-Board, who eventually votes on the directors. This year’s co-directors are seniors Caitlin O’Keeffe and Larry Guo.
“I wanted to be involved in some sort of management position since early winter because that was how I felt I could best give back to the grade,” O’Keeffe said. “Also, at this point in my life, I really want to be a film director, so this seemed like the logical choice for how to spend my time.”
As directors, O’Keeffe and Guo organize the scheduling and logistical details of the show as well as the creative details.
When a senior thinks of an idea for a skit, the idea is first brought to O’Keeffe and Guo. The duo chooses scripts that they think will fit into a well-rounded show that reflects aspects of WHS life.
“We look for something that’s outside of the box,” O’Keeffe said. “There are a lot of ideas that get reused year after year, so we’re looking for those same ideas but with a new spin. We’re also looking for things that we could never have conceived of.”
“When we look at a skit, we’re looking for universal humor as well as cleverness and some thought,” Guo said.
After they chose which skits should be in the performance, O’Keeffe and Guo brought those skits to the administration, who reviewed them for possible offensive or inappropriate parts. Sometimes skits can be edited or thrown out at this stage.
“The hardest part about directing is definitely appeasing the administration and the class at the same time,” Guo said.
Unlike last year, when seniors could choose who they could be in a skit with and which skits they could be a part of, this year there are two casting directors who make those decisions. The casting directors are seniors Genna Cutitta and Bobby Dawe.
“We don’t want a ‘star’ of the Senior Show who has sometimes appeared because they’ve been in so many skits,” O’Keeffe said. “We also want to do our best to mix up the friend groups.”
Also unlike last year’s show, O’Keeffe and Guo have been working on creating a cohesive plot that intertwines all of the skits.
This year’s show will take place March 15 and 16 at 7:00 p.m. on the main stage. Tickets will be sold during all lunches during the week of Senior Show for $10.