Phillipian: How have you been involved with acting and directing? Lydia Wallace: I have acted in two classrooms and two musical reviews. I have also directed three classrooms before this term’s Drama Lab, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Phillipian: What has been your personal favorite experience with the theater program at Andover? Why does this experience stand out for you? LW: Directing The Universal Language early last year. I had the almost unprecedented experience of being ready before the show went up. I had two dedicated actors who learned their lines over a weekend and faithfully showed up to rehearsal. We were doing very polished run-throughs four days before the show. I was able to nit-pick, and in the end, I was proud of the results. Phillipian: What is your opinion of the current theater program at Andover? What do you think should change? What do you think should remain the same? LW: I am very impressed by the current Andover program. There are enough shows going on at any one time so that most dedicated and flexible actors and actresses will eventually find a role in some play. Likewise, any eager student wanting to be a director need only apply to be granted a show. These kinds of theater opportunities really exist in high school only. Phillipian: Is there any aspect of the Theater Department that has changed during your time here that you wish had not? LW: No. I feel that the Theater Department has become only more inclusive. Or maybe it’s just that I have become an upperclassman. Phillipian: What do you think of the new theater proposal that producers work on a more individual basis with each show? Do you think it is a good idea? How do you think it will affect the Andover theater program on the whole? LW: I think it’s a great idea. All the good things I mentioned two questions above will, I hope, be amplified by the new proposal. However, I do not know how dramatic the difference will be. Phillipian: Why do you want to be a producer? What ideas and goals do you bring to the Andover theater program? LW: Two new ideas: I want to have an online listing of when auditions and performances are. Hopefully, that will make the Theater Department easier to navigate as an underclassman. I also want to make sure a producer sits down with a new director quickly and goes over some very basic rules of directing. This is something I know will save a lot of people a lot of time and effort (and yelling.) Phillipian: How did you decide to direct Charlie Brown as a drama lab? What has the experience of directing Charlie Brown been like so far? LW: I love musicals; Charlie Brown is a good one. Other than the fact the between rehearsals, planning rehearsals, and sending e-mails to various people, I have not as much time for sleeping or working as I would like. I am enjoying it very much. Phillipian: What do you hope to get out of your experience in the Andover Theater Department? LW: Intimate experience with using candy to persuade people to do what you want.
