Senior Reece Moulthrop takes on the role of student director

There are so many pieces that go into the production of stunning school plays which would not be possible without the hard work from student directors like senior Reece Moulthrop, who consistently gives her best, even if that means sacrificing her own time.

In the past year, Moulthrop has student directed Guys and Dolls. Previously she also directed 12 Angry Jurors and The Drowsy Chaperone. 

Moulthrop has a series of different responsibilities that come with being a student director. Including helping train the younger student directors, and taking over projects when drama teacher John Copeland is not in the room. She reflects on some of the long nights she spent preparing for the school’s plays. 

“There was probably a month-long period that I was at the school until at least 10 p.m. every day, because once you get in that groove, you have to keep going,” Moulthrop said.

While the job demands a lot from her, Moulthrop believes student directing has given her the chance to grow as a person and learn how to take a step back.

“I think this year, I’ve definitely become a lot more flexible with other people,” Moulthrop said. “I used to have a tendency to get really controlling, but being a leader this year and more recently has allowed me to become so much more flexible and just allow myself to have more fun.”

Copeland relates the success of recent productions back to Moulthrop’s creativity, attention to detail and good follow through.  

“I need people that are going to keep the kids working and not just phoning it in because they’re not with Mr. Copeland,” Copeland said. “So having good strong leaders is valuable for that. I know that if I ask her to do something, she’s going to do it well.”

The people around Moulthrop also agree that she is an essential part to the theater, helping teach others and fix any last minute issues. 

Now in her second year of working with Moulthrop, junior Ashley Makalous, a fellow student director, reflects on her experience first entering the theater department. 

“I was so overwhelmed because I didn’t even know there were student directors, and then Reece completely took me in and helped me through all of it,” Makalous said. “She’s so organized and calms my nerves when I’m freaking out about something. She’s just on top of everything.”

As time has progressed, Moulthop has gotten more comfortable with student directing, enjoying the perks of it, including managing Set Crew Saturdays, an event where any student can come in and help prepare the sets for the show

“[Set Crew Saturdays] was such an underrated part of the job that I just enjoy so much like building sets, painting sets, and just talking with other people that are in the show,” Moulthrop said. “It’s such a little community event.”

Moulthrop describes that she knows she’s done a good job directing when it looks like she did nothing.

“[I know I did a good job when] everything was already done and that everybody knew what they were doing,” Moulthrop said. “The award is knowing that everything went to plan.”