For most students, the Drama Club play is just another on the school calendar. What they don’t see is the months of work behind it, and this year, that work falls almost entirely on two students: co-directors Sanaa Rodwell-Simon ’28 and Charlotte Ostroski ’28, as this is a student-run play without a teacher organizing it.
Drama Club had not put on it’s own real production in years by the time Rodwell-Simon entered the Upper School (US).
“It was kind of not a thing,” she said. “There hadn’t been an actual show [put on by the club] in years.”
In her ninth-grade year, Rodwell-Simon changed that. Ostroski joined as a co-director, and together they took on a comedy, “Witches in Salem” by Matt Cox, which will be performed on May 29 at 4:30 p.m.
The play is a comedic retelling of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Alongside the historical figures caught up in the hysteria, actual witch characters appear.
“The irony is that the trials were accusations of just normal people, and then there are actual witch characters who come out,” Rodwell-Simon explained.
Both directors are also acting in the show, a role they did not originally plan.
“We really wanted not to be in the play so we could fully be directors,” Rodwell-Simon said, “but people had to drop the club because of conflicts, so [we] had to step in.”
On top of acting and directing, Rodwell-Simon and Ostroski handle casting, set design, lighting, costumes, and props.
This is not Ostroski’s first time acting, but it is definitely her first time acting and directing.
“I’ve always loved theater … I’m even considering film directing as a future path,” she said.
She also noted personal growth from the experience.
“I’ve definitely struggled with being a leader. This has helped me learn how to control a crowd better and build overall leadership, because I was never very confident in myself doing that,” Ostroski said.
There have also been challenges that come with this leadership. Without a dedicated rehearsal space, the directors schedule sessions during lunches, free periods, and after school. Working on a limited budget has required resourcefulness, and coordinating a student cast with other commitments has not always been easy.
“Sometimes students just need more motivation,” Rodwell-Simon said. “Getting people to show up can sometimes be hard because we’re all students and we’re all busy.”
According to cast members, the two have handled their positions wonderfully, even with the struggles.
Julia Messina ’28 described their leadership style as “organized, dedicated, and encouraging,” and credited the cast being on track to their shared schedules and clear blocking.
“Our directors are very quick to adjust in moments when an actor is missing,” she added. “They stay calm and simply change the itinerary for the day.”
Riti Moorthy ’27 echoed Messina’s statement, praising their leadership in directing the upcoming play.
“They have a really clear vision for every part of the show — the comedy, the drama, the visuals,” she said. “They’re so good at communicating exactly what they want from us.”
Moorthy described their leadership style in three words: “Patience, community, and passion.”
The faculty adviser, Holli Kitching, explained how student-run productions offer something a regular class project cannot.
“Being able to effectively lead your peers is a really incredible skill,” she said. “Putting on something meaningful for the community takes a lot of effort and a lot of specific skills. Doing it well will serve them very well in the future.”
Rodwell-Simon said she hopes the audience takes something real away from the show.
“Even though it’s a comedy, I hope people walk away with the message that everyone deserves justice, especially when the reasons they’re being denied it are so unfair,” she said. “But on a more everyday level — I hope everyone sees the effort that everyone has put in, and I hope they laugh.”
