A 'Sled Ride' and soul-searching in fall one acts

By Brittany Benjamin

One of the two student-directed productions premiering Saturday will make Santa Clara theater history as the first musical one act.

Scotty Arnold, a senior theater and music major, will premiere the musical "Sled Ride," the first musical production of its kind at Santa Clara. Meanwhile, senior theater major Meggie Zanger debuts "Water and Wine," a story of a young woman's search for her passion at the beginning of the 16th century.

"Sled Ride," inspired by Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome," is the tale of friendship between two young boys set in present-day Ohio.

Two teenagers, Ethan and Matt, develop a friendship after Matt's mother dies and he goes to live with Matt and his mother, Zena. The boys develop such a close relationship that Zena becomes wary of the bond and questions the boys' sexuality.

"It's really amazing how 'Sled Ride' gets to you in 25 minutes," Arnold said. "The relationship between the two boys is so real."

Zanger's "Water and Wine," written by Stuart Spencer, is a period piece focusing on one young woman's journey of self-discovery in the year 1506 in Florence, Italy.

Protagonist, 21-year-old Enrica, and her mother are wine farmers who find a famous statue buried near their home.

As an aspiring artist, Enrica is excited when famous artists Michelangelo and Giuliano da Sangallo are sent to authenticate the art piece. Through talking with Michelangelo, Enrica discovers she was meant to be a winemaker, and learns to accept this realization with pride.

"It's about the characters, the journey and the message," Zanger said. "(It) has to do with pride -- being proud and owning who you are."

The directors have a long-running history with theater. Arnold has been acting since he was eight and got into directing during high school after he wrote and directed a 10-minute musical.

Like Arnold, Zanger acted before directing. She said she grew up watching her older brother act and got into theater before high school. However, Zanger has only begun directing within the last year. As a potential career, she hopes to somehow find a way to use theater as therapy for children with speech and hearing problems.

The two directors each took a sequence of courses, including a directing class, to meet the eligibility requirements to become student directors. Zanger and Arnold will receive five units for directing the show.

Both directors also had to find their own scripts.

Zanger read many books of one acts until she found the one that spoke to her, she said.

Arnold's search took him to New York University, where Santa Clara alum Tony Asaro was attending the graduate writing program at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Having visited Asaro in New York, Arnold obtained "Sled Ride" from Asaro's classmates, Rochell Bright and Gordon Leary, who had written it as a final project.

This will be the world premiere production of "Sled Ride," as well as the university's first musical one act.

Having chosen a script, the directors now dip into every aspect of the production. Each director held actor auditions for their respective plays. They then hired lighting and sound designers, a musical director and a sound operator. They perform line work with the actors, block the scenes, organize the actors' rehearsal schedules and meet with advisor Barbara Fraser once a week to talk about their progress.

The directors, though working separately, still meet to talk and support each other.

"We try not to be backseat drivers in terms of giving the other unsolicited critiques or suggestions," Arnold said.

Since each production has a cast and crew of fewer than 10 people, the directors carry out many jobs by themselves that would normally be delegated to other crew members in a larger production. The directors say they are thankful for their stage managers, sophomore Dani Lencioni and junior Devin Bertsch, who help write down blocking and assist the directors.

"If I have a problem I can't solve, she'll help me figure it out," Arnold says of Lencioni.

The directors have learned the one acts take a lot of hard work from all parties.

"What most people don't think is that there is someone up in the booth," Zanger said. "You invest so much into it."

The Fall One Act Festival takes place from Oct. 20-21, at 2 p.m. in the Fess Parker Studio Theatre. Tickets are $5 and available at the box office, located outside Mayer Theatre. Box office hours are Tuesday-Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.