From comedy to drama to mystery, all these genres and more are represented every spring here at Prep. Every year, Prep holds the Festival of Shorts. It is a tradition that is nearly 40 years old and was started by the former drama teacher. The Festival of Shorts gives students the opportunity to bring their ideas to life through writing and directing short plays. During the performances, professionals come in to watch and judge the various plays, and at the end of the festival, they distribute awards.
Not only are students able to direct the plays, but the festival also, “gives actors a chance to be in some fun and quirky shows that maybe we wouldn’t normally do as a full production.” Said drama teacher Mr. Othman.
For Mr. Othman, the Festival of Shorts is a chance for him to step back from the role of director. “Instead of directing the plays I get to mentor, I get to work with them,” Said Mr. Othman, “I get to teach them different skills about directing and things like that to help them along the way.”
Senior Janaya Cataquis is one of the student directors this year, and it is her second year directing. Each director and their process differs. “I’m really big on bits, personally. I like things that are outside the dialogue, and that’s what we usually spend the most time running.” Said Cataquis.
Cataquis is not only directing a play, she also wrote two different plays. The first step in her writing process is finding scriptwriting software. Then she moves onto the story itself. “You kind of just have to get an idea first,” Said Cataquis, “Sometimes I’ll start multiple ideas and then if I can stay with them long enough, then that’s the one I’m going to write.”
During her process this year, she had more than one idea that worked out, so she wrote them both. One of them is a commentary on Prep’s work culture, while the other is a 1900s murder mystery.
This year the Festival of Shorts will take place from May 13th through 17th. Each play gets one performance after school and one in the evening during the Arts Fest.
