Back in January of this year, Stamford High hosted their annual Senior Scenes. Don’t be fooled by the name, there is no sort of deal for those 80 and up. Senior Scenes at Stamford High is an event put on by the Strawberry Hill Players (our drama club) in which the Players’ graduating seniors choose scenes to direct, using the underclassmen as their actors. The idea itself is incredibly creative, and is a chance for seniors to bond with their club members while getting a taste of directing in the “real” acting world.
However, this year’s Senior Scenes were particularly interesting, as it featured something Stamford High hasn’t seen in some time; a senior directing an original scene. Most seniors choose short scenes from their favorite already-written plays (unfortunately avoiding singing and dancing, to my surmise), but this year, Pavla Smid (pronounced Sm-i-d) directed Sleepover Summoning, an original scene that she began writing in her junior year.
Smid’s Sleepover Summoning follows four girls, Pauline, Aaliyah, Journey, and Brooke, at an (at first) boring sleepover. After being bored of playing Uno, one of the girls, Journey, wanders off and finds Aaliyah’s diary and begins reading it out loud to the other girls. Upon discovering Aaliyah’s crush on a boy, the girls come up with the idea to cast a love spell on the boy. The girls go on a sketchy website and, after messing up the love spell, accidentally summon the ghost of misery.
Smid’s cast included Michael Dennis, Hillary Ho, Madison Builes, Valentina Goncalves Rocha, and Veronica Lopez Velazquez. Smid remarked that she enjoyed the fact that her cast was mixed with students from all grade levels, and that although the dynamic was a bit awkward at first, they eventually formed a very close bond after hours of rehearsing.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better cast,” Smid said about the group.
When watching her scene, it felt as if Smid’s characters were an extension of their actors. For example, Michael Dennis, who played the Ghost of Misery was incredible, his naturally monotonous and deadpan delivery worked perfectly with a no-nonsense (and oddly popcorn loving) Ghost. Even Hillary Ho, who played one of the girls at the sleepover, fit perfectly into her bubbly upbeat character.
These casting choices were completely intentional; a mark of Smid’s strength in directing. Her creative process was particular and methodical, which paid off in the final product to create a cohesive show. Smid explained that, on the first day of rehearsals, she Facetimed her cast to directly explain the specific characterization of each role — how each character talks, interacts with other characters, and what their personality is like.
Smid’s risk in writing her own scene is interesting as it presented an unexpected advantage: total creative freedom. When blocking — a theater term for telling people where to stand on the stage — she found it easy to bring her own visuals to life, without being constrained to replicating another writer’s scene.
But the question begs, why write your own scene? From an outside standpoint, one runs a lot of risk in writing their own scene: writer’s block, audience reception, and lack of stage props to truly bring your idea to life — all hurdles Smid leapt over with poise. It seems almost nothing deters Smid, who comes off as a creative and ambitious soul. As a second semester senior, she balanced theater, improv, choir, and piano playing, earning the title ‘Triple Threat.’ A triple threat, in theater, is someone who can sing, dance, and act. It’d probably be more accurate to describe Smid as a ‘Quadruple Threat,’ although it isn’t as catchy.
Back to Senior Scenes. When asked what inspired her to write her own scene, Smid responded “it’s [Sleepover Summoning] just based off of experiences I had in childhood and nostalgia, I just thought like, oh, it’d be like fun if I were to like, show that to an audience.
Theater altogether is a communal experience, and Smid’s creativity and dedication to sharing her passion with the audience created a truly engaging experience. She couldn’t have known who would be in the audience for her scene, but her characters were unique, magnetic, sarcastic, silly, and naive, reckless even, in serious situations, something that everyone watching could relate to.
As a senior and a writer, Smid had a unique role in setting an example for the underclassmen. Demonstrating artistry and ingenuity, while being open to new ideas are qualities exemplified in Smid, and important to the future of drama. Many underclassmen, or highschoolers in general, may not ever get the chance to play lead roles, and have an even lower chance of directing a show, making Smid’s scene so important. She has taken advantage of the rare opportunity given to her to showcase what theater can be. As we were walking out of the auditorium, we were filled with that refreshing feeling that creativity and self-expression exists in our own school.
When asked what she would tell a freshman who’s coming into theater next year, Smid responded:
“I would say, don’t be afraid to be yourself, take risks on stage… I regret not taking chances. People are rooting for you, they’re not there to judge you, especially in theater,”
Smid’s advice to a freshman is truly advice to all of us. In a world filled with endless opportunities, we must not hold ourselves back–especially just because we fear being judged. Theater, the welcoming community that it is, is often just the launching pad of a passion in performance for many. In my research across different shows, I have found that theater has a high rate of people entering the space but never leaving.
Similarly, Smid began theater in sixth grade, and despite COVID’s interruption, has been consistent in her desire to perform, doing Mamma Mia and Senior Scenes (as a cast member) in her sophomore year. She will continue this passion while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in musical theater at The American Musical and Drama Academy (AMDA) in New York City.