This year, Tatum Wichus, a senior at Monticello, co-directed The Hungry Maze Game of Divergent Death. Although the play took place earlier in the year, she went on to audition for the school musical production May We All.
The very talented Wichus described the play she directed as “… a group of teens in the dystopian future who must battle against…the Gamemaster to be proclaimed the winner of ‘The Maze.’ It seems inevitable that only the main character will make it out alive, but first, the contestants must decide who the main character is.”
Through this journey, Wichus discovered that you face more challenges as a director than you would as an actor. Wichus said, “Directing takes up significantly more time than acting. You have to have a vision for the show before you even cast your actors. Bringing that vision to life takes lots of time working in the theater after rehearsal. Being a director felt like more pressure to me because I was not in control of how the show turned out on opening night. We were just in the back, watching and praying nothing went wrong.”
MHS has an outstanding theater department, where Wichus and her co-director, Maya Cremeens, learned how to make a solid production. Wichus said, “Knowing how a good show is produced really helped me bring dystopia to life with my co-director Maya Cremeens. We used our copious amounts of theater knowledge to help our actors understand their purposes and put on a great show.”
This experience made Wichus realize she had taken on a lot more responsibility than she initially thought. Wichus said, “I learned that there is even more work behind the scenes than I had ever experienced. You have to weigh all the factors of lighting, sound, music, and costumes. When you’re performing, you only see parts of that work, but as a director, it’s all on you.”
Wichus concluded, “After directing, I further understood the importance of staying focused and practicing how you want to perform. Giving your best effort in rehearsal directly leads to confidence and shining on stage.” Hopefully you will consider buying a ticket to the school’s musical May We All, starting on March 6, where you can see this aspiring student’s hard work pay off.
Pearl Glaze, Staff Writer
The Sage Informer 
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