“The Unknown Part of the Ocean” directed by: Marina Prather

“Directing, I’ve kind of always known that I’ve wanted to do more serious shows with deeper stories like “These Shining Lives”, and “33 Variations“, because theater and society go hand in hand,” Marina Prather, a junior majoring in Theatre Production & Performance with a minor in Musical Theatre, and one of the student directors for the upcoming Weekend of One-Acts said.

“I believe that theater has a role in society to challenge it and make people look at what the world looks like today and ask themselves: are they happy with it, and if not, can we do something to change this?”

Prather is continuing to explore deeper stories, this time through directing the One-Act “The Unknown Part of the Ocean” by Sheri Wilner.

In the directing course that Prather is in, the course textbook Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style by Francis Hodge states that “Directing is directing: You either know how to do it or you don’t.” But what exactly does it take to direct something, especially as someone who is new to it?

The Search for a Show

A lot of research and thought went into finding the One-Act that Prather wanted to direct as her final for her directing course.

“I was looking for more serious One-Acts like that that had a full story because a lot of them, with the 10-minute time, they don’t have a fully fleshed out story, and this one really stuck out, not only because of the story but also that I do kind of have some personal experience with it through family members,” Prather said.

Prather also took into consideration the audience she would have for this show compared to the previous major scene she directed for her class.

“It’s on higher stakes than our major scene was that we did in class because that was just performed for classmates, but now this, it’s a full scene,” Prather said. “You have to tell the story because not everyone’s going to know it versus major scenes we were doing scenes from plays we read. This is incorporating all the technical elements into it: lights, costumes, sets, props, sound and everything.”

Casting Call

Once the show had been selected, finding actors to help bring it to life was another element Prather was involved in as a director. Luckily, she is no stranger to casting.

“I have been behind the casting table for every show except for one this year, so it’s been interesting working with different people, or even if I’m not having a say, just seeing what their thought process is,” Prather said.

When casting a show, Prather finds what the actors can bring to be just as important as the director’s vision.

“For me I knew what I was looking for in the characters, but I also waited to see what actors brought into auditions because in some ways, it’s casting on what they bring into the room with a sprinkle of ‘who you know they are like,’ ‘do you work well with them,’ do they work well with others’, and ‘have there been any problems working with them in shows before,” Prather said.

“Everything you can think of will play into it because they’re the ones portraying the story, and if they have a different vision of it or if you know they’re not going to get to the same vision as you do, that’s going to cause a lot of conflict and stress.”

The One-Act Prather chose contains two parts: Sophie, a lively 8-year-old girl with a gift for storytelling, and Carolyn, Sophie’s mother and caretaker who is battling cancer. For the role of Sophie, Prather focused specifically on the physicality of the character.

“I knew that for the 8-year-old it’s very physical. She’s telling a story,” Prather said. “We have all these props that she’s running around the stage and playing with and becoming the characters, so I knew that I needed someone who wasn’t afraid of looking silly on the stage. Someone who could just take something and run with it.”

For the role of the mother, Carolyn, Prather wanted someone who had a maternal energy to them.

“The mom I kind of cast off of vibes,” Prather said. “Like, who gives mom energy or who do I know that I can work with to get them to give mom energy.”

This casting experience in particular was a unique one as all sixteen student directors were casting for their different shows, such as  “I Ought to Be in Pictures”, “The Sure Thing”, and “Three Guys and a Brenda”, at the same time.

“After the last audition…we went into a separate room, pulled up a shared document and went to the whiteboard and just started hashing it out, in the best way possible,” Prather said.

“Definitely one of the more chaotic castings I’ve been through because there were so many of us, but we actually went through it pretty quickly; we were all able to work together.”

The role of Sophie went to freshman Ash Cook, and the role of the mother, Carolyn, went to freshman Kayla Hedger.

Time to Rehearse

With the cast was selected, Prather and the actors began the rehearsal process which included working through things such as blocking, memorizing lines, technical elements, and so much more. For Prather, she believes that one of the most important parts of directing and the rehearsal process is character work.

“I really like working on character work with my actors,” Prather said. “I feel that that’s very important because the more you get to get connected with your character, become them, see how you relate to them and what’s different, the more you can understand about the story in whole. I believe that aside from blocking and staging lights and tech stuff, that is really at the core of directing; helping your actors find their character because through that, the story will be told.”

For freshman Ash Cook, who is playing the character of Sophie in the One-Act, she has particularly enjoyed utilizing a variety of props in rehearsals to exemplify Sophie’s expressiveness and creativity, and can’t wait for people to see this on show day.

“I’m excited to be able to use all of the fun props that we have because since I’m pretending to be an 8-year-old, I get to do a lot of moving and I have a bunch of toy props that I get to play with and I have glitter that I get to throw all over Kayla who plays the mom,” Cook said. “Not excited to clean it up, but I’m excited to get to use them.”

Freshman Kayla Hedger, who is playing the mother Carolyn in the show, has also enjoyed the rehearsal process, and is excited to perform the One-Act.

“I’m excited to do it, to go through it,” Hedger said. “I’m excited for Ash’s part because she takes everything out like a crazy whirlwind. I’m excited even though technically in the story I’m asleep, to just hear it, that will be fun. And I love the ending.”

Reflecting on the Experience

All in all, the show has been a great experience for both the director and the actors. Prather, in particular, feels she was able to take a lot away from getting the opportunity to direct a One-Act.

“You can’t learn to direct without actually doing a show, so I do love being given the opportunities in class to be able to get scenes and One-Acts under our belt, for if it’s something we want to continue, and if not, it’s something you learn,” Prather said.

“Everyone in theatre should have a basic understanding of all the different areas because even just that, it will make them so much stronger in where they are whether that’s acting, directing, sound, stage management, lighting. Knowing how everything works together and what goes into everything.”

Make sure to check out “The Unknown Part of the Ocean” and the other One-Acts being performed during ONU Theatre’s Weekend of One-Acts on April 25 and 26.