Article by Mason Voight. Photos by Mason Voight.
While Grace Gardner has never directed a performance before, she has an extensive background in management that led her to become the director of St. Cloud State University’s Drama Club Spring Musical: Little Women.
Gardner is pursuing a Business Degree at St. Cloud State with a focus on management. Gardner says that although she loves to be in charge, after just a few rehearsals, she feels she would’ve had more fun on stage.
That tension is one of Gardner’s main challenges while trying to navigate success for the Musical.
Gardner thinks one of the biggest challenges in acting or even directing is having confidence, and to give herself a boost of confidence, she often says, “You need to fake it until you make it.”
Finding the middle ground with administration has also been a challenge for Gardner but she says that “creating and building reliable relationships” with the staff has helped her.
She says communication is key when trying to navigate something you’ve never really done before.
Other challenges while directing included figuring out where the “pit” of the musical was going to be placed. The pit is simply the ensemble of instruments and everything that makes up the sound for the musical.
Typically, the pit is right on stage or underneath the stage. But for this production, some members of the crew think it should be placed on the balcony of Ritsche Auditorium.
Gardner says this has caused a split among the crew, and with less than a week before show time and ongoing debates, some crew think we may not see a pit at all.
Another challenge for Gardner is the advertising.
Gardner says that advertising for the musical cannot consist of any fancy billboards due to licensing restrictions. Instead, they’ve set up posters in local restaurants, on campus, and used social media to boost the engagement of the Saint Cloud State University Drama Club.
The Drama Club is funded by fundraisers including on-campus bake sales and game nights. Posters are usually set up around campus for information leading to these events.
Jessica Savage, who plays Jo March in the show, spoke about how grateful she is for the drama club and hopes all the hard work they’ve done in promoting the show will pay off, “So much of why we work so hard as a club is to help keep the arts alive here on campus. We’ve worked so hard to put this production together and hope that everyone can find the time to come support us and enjoy the show.”
Performances of Little Women are set for Easter weekend in the Ritsche Auditorium:
April 18 at 7 p.m.
April 19 at 7 p.m.
April 20 at 3 p.m.
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