The Wilmington Drama League’s annual Jeff Walker Youth One-Act Festival offers proof that the director’s chair isn’t reserved for adults only.
All eight of the shows that will be featured in the Aug. 7 performance are being directed by teenagers.
The festival, which has been held for more than a decade, is a way to show students a different side of the theater, as well as let them spread their creative wings in ways actors cannot, said Chrissy Montgomery, one of the festival coordinators.
“Directing a show gives them a lot of control,” she said. “It puts them in the role of being in charge of things.”
Several of the shows were also written by teens, she said, but the cast of actors runs from elementary school kids to adults in their 60s.
Directing those 60-year-olds was a bit awkward at first, since it’s counterintuitive for a kid to boss an adult around, said Luke Moran, 13, of Brandywine Hundred. He and co-director Helene DelNegro are working with a cast of kids and adults for their show, “Why Do we Laugh?”
“The adults do respect the fact that we’re directors,” said DelNegro, 15, of Pike Creek. “They have different needs as actors, but we can cover them.”
The best thing about their show is how funny it is, Moran said, especially the scenes with the older adults. The play tells the story of a couple reminiscing and shows how two people can change each other’s lives for the better, DelNegro said.
For Moran, a first-time director, being behind the scenes has been an eye-opening experience.
“I used to think directors just yelled at us,” he said. “Now I know they have a ton of work to do.”
For 14-year-old Nicodemus Williams, of Newark, the biggest challenge of directing is picking the ideas to incorporate into the show without overloading the production.
Williams is directing “Don’t Look in the Lake,” a play about a group of kids at camp who tell scary stories, only to find one of the stories comes true.
An actor since he was 9 years old, directing offers a fresh perspective, he said, and a chance to try something new.
“I get to take the show and make it my own,” he said.
