Ms. Ferrarin
Ms. Ferrarin has been the drama teacher here at Marymount for the past six years and has directed a total of twelve shows with the Marymount players, the after school drama club.
Interview conducted and transcribed by Ramzi S.
R: How do you decide what musical or play you’re going to choose to do?
F: Well, usually we think about the talent that we have. We think about all the people who have done musicals in the high school in the past, and we think about people who might be good, because we have to have an idea that we could possibly cast it [the musical] because it would be no good thinking of a show and then realizing we don’t have this character or that character or any possibility for a character. So we think about what we have and then we come up with a list of possibilities. But for this show it was a bit different because I was almost, I was bullied into it by, [laughs] by a few little devils.
R: For anyone who doesn’t know how it all works, what can you say about the process of putting it all together as a director? Do you make lists for yourself?Draw up set designs? What does it mean to be prepared when you come to rehearsal?
F: Okay, yea, everything. All of that. It’s basically one of the biggest undertakings that you can do really because you have to have a vision of how it’s going to end, so you have to have an idea of what it’s going to look like or what you want it to look like. You might not get there but you have to have an understanding of what that might be. And you have to be as organized as possible so that all of those steps get completed. So there’s lots of list making, there’s basically a list a day for different things. You have to come up with a rehearsal schedule before auditions so you know you have enough time, so you have to work backwards. That’s basically it. It’s working backwards. It’s thinking of what you want the final thing to be and then working backwards and trying to fit everything in. And most of the time you can’t fit everything in, so you have to cram it in.
R: Are there lots of times when you just have to improvise?
F: Absolutely, there are plenty of times when you just have to skip over things or scenes because there is just no time. Time is the biggest factor. You just hope and pray that people go off and learn what they need to learn, so it’s really great as a director to have a cast who bring stuff to rehearsal and come prepared.
R: Is there any piece of advice that you always find yourself giving to your actors?
F: I think...probably...well, for a musical, I suppose the biggest one would be energy. Always. And for people who don’t know what that means, It would be bringing a certain level of energy onto the stage. So even if you make a big mistake or you don’t know what you’re doing you have to do it with confidence...because it’s incredible and very real, the sharing of energy between the audience and the actors. Also probably secondly, would be to make sure the story is told, because if the actor doesn’t understand their his or her and the story, they’re not going to be able to effectively tell it. Because that’s what it is at the end of the day. It’s a story.
R: And not to take to themselves too seriously [laughs]
F: Don’t take yourself too seriously! Yeah! Because otherwise you’re going to hold yourself back and not reach your true potential.
R: What would you tell someone who has never really tried being in a play before, but wants to try?
F: I would probably tell them that it would be completely different to what they expect. You get what you put in, with everything in life, but definitely something like that. You can adapt being apart of a performance like this to what you want to do, so if you want to do something huge and throw yourself in then go for a main role, if you just want to try it then come along and do a backstage roll and see how it’s done and build up your confidence that way. The most important thing is to try and have fun and we try and have fun and [laughs] sometimes I make it hard because I do lose my temper but that’s because I know that people can do it better than they are doing. It’s hard work but I think if you ask anyone and I challenge anyone to ask any cast member, past or present, how he or she felt at the end, they’ll tell you that they loved it. Because there’s nothing that compares to the moment that the curtains close and there’s an eruption of sound, and it’s all the actors and crew just letting off steam that they’ve managed to do it. The arts are for everybody, and everybody owns the arts, so even if you’ve never tried it before, its never too late.
R: You’ve done twelve plays now at Marymount
F: Have I? [laughs]
R: Yea, it’s twelve as of West Side Story, so from the ones that you’ve done which were the most challenging and which was the most rewarding?
F: The most challenging was West Side Story without a doubt. It was challenging because it’s a huge musical and it’s a musical that lots of people already know and love so the audience was coming in with big expectations and we had to meet them. So I really feel as a director and teacher, I want everyone to do their best. I want to do my best. So you push yourself and everyone else to make it happen. It was also very difficult musically. The most rewarding was probably...maybe because it was so difficult was West Side Story. But also maybe -- The one that I felt that I stretched
myself most as a director and I stretched the actors who I was working with was probably Twelve Angry Men. It was something new that we hadn’t done before and nothing we have done since. That was a real ensemble piece and I really like ensemble pieces because it means everyone is working together; everyone was on stage the entire time...it was tough, but really good.
R: Can you give us any hints about next year’s shows?
F: Can I? No, [laughs] I honestly have no idea what the shows will be, we kind of have ideas floating around, but we can’t choose until we see that list of people who sign up. So all I’ll say is that if you’re interested, sign up.