craigdailypress.com

Craig — Singing or acting - it makes no difference to Kyle Hawkins.

As long as the Moffat County High School senior is in front of an audience, he's at home.

"There's no place else I'd rather be than up in front of someone, performing - a play or maybe an opera or just singing to them," Hawkins said.

This year, though, he's trying his hand at a new role: director.

Amy Pottinger, MCHS drama teacher, selected Hawkins and two other advanced theater class students to cast and direct a play of their choice.

The students' productions will take the stage April 28 and 29 at the Moffat County High School auditorium.

The event will mark the first time Pottinger has given her students free rein to direct their own plays.

A director is "the unifying factor," in the production, Pottinger said.

"They set the tone of the play," she said.

Yet, in the world of performing arts, directors are sometimes branded as actors who couldn't make the cut, Pottinger said.

That perception, she asserted, is false.

"If anything, (directors are) the ultimate actor - they play every character," Pottinger said.

This kind of vicarious performance is what sparked Hawkins' interest in becoming director, he said.

Hawkins plans to attend University of California, Los Angeles after graduation and double major in teaching and acting. Recently, though, he's also considered directing.

Guiding a hand-picked cast of his peers through a one-act play will be his first venture into that field.

But, the fledgling director doesn't expect his authority to go uncontested.

"There's always conflict between actors and the director," he said. "I think there's going to be more between me and my actors because they're going to be peers.

"It's going to be harder to direct them than being cast with them."

Still, he's not intimidated by possible conflicts.

Occasional tiffs between himself and his actors, if handled correctly, could bring the cast closer together, he said.

So far, Hawkins' cast consists of Andrew Field, a high school junior who has performed with him in past theater productions. He plans to find four more actors in coming weeks.

Hawkins selected Field to play the lead character in a one-act play entitled, "The Actor's Nightmare."

Field's character is a hapless passer-by who stumbles into a series of plays. Each production is a tongue-in-cheek version of well-known plays, including William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

The part was a good fit for Field, he said. "I don't know what I'm doing up there (on the stage) half the time."

Field and Hawkins have performed in three high school plays together and are practicing for their fourth, a Victorian-era comedy entitled, "Charley's Aunt."

After the play shows April 2, 3 and 4, Hawkins plans to start regular rehearsals with his cast.

Field looks forward to working under his peer's direction.

"It's a nice change to have someone you know - other than a teacher - tell you what to do," he said.

Bridget Manley can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 207 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com