Beginning last year, Wilmington Friends School students have began the annual tradition of taking on the task of directing the student run production. Wyatt Dylan Thompson 15’ took initiative last year by deciding to direct his own production, and with some fundraising and financial assistance from the Business Meeting fund, the show was very successful, paving the way for future students that wish to take on this ambitious task. This year, Joslyn Gardner ‘16 and Emily Rossi ‘17 decided to co-direct the production of “Mirrors” together. On Friday, January 15th and Saturday, January 16th, people gathered to see “Mirrors,” by John O’Brien, a short play about a man living in two different realities. In one reality, his wife and 3 children, portrayed by Maggie Coons ‘19, Mary Agne ‘18, Leah Johnson ‘18, and Margaret Kane ‘16, all passed away 10 years ago in a tragic house fire. In the other reality, Fred Peterson, portrayed by William Stanborough ‘16, still lived with his family in their home. The man’s doctor, played by Jacob Howell ‘16, helped him to decide what the truth was. Was his family alive and well, or did they actually die in a house fire and leave him to imagine their existence? It was up to the audience to decide which reality he was actually living in.

The interesting twist to this play that attracted many viewers was that the fate of the main character was in the audience’s hands. The audience was left with a cliffhanger, as the ending to the story could go either way. A very prominent line in the play that was repeated over and over again was, “I, Fred Peterson, want to live in reality.” So what was reality for Mr. Peterson? After attending the student run production, Jack Coons ‘18 said, “I believe that Fred Peterson’s family never died and that it was all a dream.” On the other hand, Anna Erskine ‘18 remarked, “I think that the family actually did die and that his imagination kept playing tricks on him and that’s why he saw them.” Obviously, there are different opinions on which reality Fred Peterson was truly living in, and the production left room for a lot of self interpretation as well. The ending of the play added suspense when a spotlight shined on Stanborough (Fred) who blew out a candle, and the theater went dark.

Co-Director Emily Rossi ‘17 said, “I had a lot of fun directing the production and appreciate all of the support! We chose to do “Mirrors” as our student run production because we wanted to connect to dramatic themes we don’t usually address. We wanted to do a drama to show everyone that students could handle hard situations. We also changed the script to make one of the characters homosexual, because we haven’t really done anything like that in our theatre.” The way that the directors made this play their own was very successful and appealing to the audience.

All of the actors and actresses who participated in this production seemed to have enjoyed it very much and thought it was a great experience. Kane stated with pride, “I love being a part of the student run productions, having such a small, tight knit group of people who are all very invested in the show makes it such a wonderful experience. The fact that we put this production together in two weeks shows how dedicated everyone was to making this show amazing. Joslyn and Emily poured their hearts and souls into this production and having them as our directors made every moment worth it.”

The student actors and actresses agree that the student run production has a more serious vibe than the school productions because everyone auditioning for the student-run play does not receive school credit. Instead the students take time from their lives because they are passionate about the arts and enjoy performing. Stanborough commented, “It’s cool to get to talk to your directors as peers, and the smaller cast is a lot closer. At the same time, you get very little time to rehearse, which means that if you’re new to acting this might not be the right opportunity for you. It certainly takes a lot more personal work than the bigger productions, but that makes it even more rewarding. The independence of it is both exciting and a daunting responsibility, and I’d totally recommend you do it if that’s the sort of thing you like.”

This year’s student run production was definitely as successful as people thought it would be. With such amazing passion and talent from students at Wilmington Friends School, this play left the audience members in deep thought. Rossi and Gardner, along with the student actors and actresses, undoubtedly did a great job of portraying O’Brien’s “Mirrors,” not to mention doing it in only 2 weeks. Thank you to everyone involved for putting on a great show, and the Friends community looks forward to next year’s student run production.