High school students guide young actors

By Brooke Leister / Staff Writer

Thursday, November 13, 2003

Reprinted with permission from the Arlington Advocate

Young, Mulvey directing 'The Replacements'

When Amy Young joined the cast for her first production with the Arlington Children's Theater, she remembers watching the older actors with a sense of awe.

The feeling has never left.

"My first production was with ACT when I was 10 or 11. I did 'The Sound of Music,' and played a nun. I was really in awe of the entire process. I remember looking at these people who were 16 or 17 and thinking they were really amazing. And to now think I might be that person to someone, I feel really honored," said Young, a junior at Arlington High School.

Young, along with fellow AHS junior Laura Mulvey, is directing her first play "The Replacements" at the ACT.

The play, written by 14-year-old Winchester resident Jenny Oberholtzer, will be performed Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 819 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington.

After performing in the ACT's production of "Our Town" last spring, Steve Smith of ACT asked Young and Mulvey if they would be interested in directing. They quickly agreed.

"Working with the younger kids, I can see a lot of what I saw in myself at a younger age... I can see some of them coming back in five or six years and directing a show," Young said.

"The Replacements" was the winner of the ACT Young Playwrights' competition held over the summer. The one-act play tells the story of an imaginary land named Plumlin. The king wants to retire and because there is no one to replace him, he holds a contest to see who will rule.

For the three friends who enter, they must decide what is more important - winning or staying friends.

"It's very relatable in outside circumstances... Friendship, in the end, is a lot more important than glory. I hope the kids are taking something away from that," said Young, 16.

"The Replacements" is the second play Mulvey, also 16, has helped direct at the ACT. She was also a student director for this past summer's production of "Oliver."

Like Young, Mulvey is a stage veteran. She has preformed in plays since she was in elementary school and has performed in ACT productions as well as high school plays.

"You learn different things about different people and you also learn different things about yourself," Mulvey said of the theater experience. "One of the great things about ACT is it's really kid-driven. It's really great to direct something that's done by someone who's younger."

When working with the cast, made up of children ages 10 to 13, Mulvey likes to go over the lines to make sure each child understands why they are important.

"I like the kids to understand what they're doing before they get up on stage," Mulvey said. "I've been in plays before where you say lines and you don't know where they're coming from."

It also helps she and Young work well together. Both are interested in pursuing theater in college.

"We both see the same things on stage. We work together very well and complement each other very well. We kind of complete the circle," Mulvey said.

When Young first slid into the director's chair, she admitted she had high expectations of the 12-member cast.

"Laura keeps me a little more grounded. She says, 'They're just kids. You can't expect them to know that,'" Young said.

Alane Zuppa, the play's producer, said Young and Mulvey are handling the cast and responsibility well.

"They're great. They're doing a really good job. This is their first time directing. They really seem to know how to get what they need out of the kids... They know each other's quirks and they know each other's strengths," Zuppa said.