Being A Student Director

Episode 134: Being a Student Director

Amelia Trimble directed her first play this year. She was thrown into it by her teacher and the experience has been a rewarding one. What’s it like to direct your peers? How do you direct when you’ve never done it before? Listen in to hear Amelia’s story.

Show Notes

• Censorbleep

Episode Transcript

Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere.

I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk.

Hello! I hope you’re well. Thanks for listening.

This is Episode 134.

You can find any links for this episode at the show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode134.

Today, I am talking to a student director. I was invited and I went to see a run-through, a rehearsal, of a play of mine – Censorbleep – and the group was getting ready to take it to competition the next week. And, even though they were struggling a little, you know, trying to put everything together – the lines and the blocking – and even though things weren’t as put-together as they could be, I was amazed at the student director. She was a force. She was in control. She knew what she wanted and, not only that, she was able to get this group. They didn’t fight about the issues they were having. They collaborated together and I knew, as I was watching, that I really wanted to talk to her and get her on the podcast, and so I did!

Let’s get to it.

LINDSAY: I am here and I am talking to Amelia Trimble. How are you, Amelia?

AMELIA: I’m good.

LINDSAY: You’re good. I’m good, too!

AMELIA: That’s good.

LINDSAY: And the reason that we are talking is you directed one of my plays.

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: Which one did you direct?

AMELIA: Censorbleep.

LINDSAY: Censorbleep.

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: And this was for a local festival.

AMELIA: Yes, Sears Festival.

LINDSAY: Sears Festival, and this was the first play that you have ever directed.

AMELIA: It’s, yes, the first play.

LINDSAY: Now, your teacher kind of put you put to it.

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: Sort of – sort of maybe?

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: Pushed you into it with both hands?

AMELIA: Pretty random how it happened.

LINDSAY: Yeah, how did it come about?

AMELIA: So, I act as well and I wanted to be the lead in this play but certain things are happening with my health that didn’t think I could do the lead. Originally, Fiocca was directing it and I was just going to do a small part. And then, I actually missed one of the rehearsals and I got a text from my friend saying that Fiocca made me full director because he was also making me co-director then I got full director and I was like, “Oh, okay, sure!” and it didn’t really hit me until, like, he wasn’t there and then everyone was looking at me, going, “What do we do?” I was like, “Oh, okay, yeah, I guess I am, like, the leader.”

LINDSAY: Have you done any directing before this?

AMELIA: No, I’ve acted a lot.

LINDSAY: So, what do you think made him see a director in you?

AMELIA: I’m bossy; I have pretty clear images of what I like and what I want; and I have good spatial awareness; and I guess, last year, when I was the lead in the Sears Festival play that we did, I was very, like, wanted things to be a certain way and I always have very, like, big ideas and creative and I’m a leader. It’s pretty clear when I’m in a group, I tend to lead, and he knows that.

LINDSAY: The thing that I noticed when I came and watched your show was that that’s the one thing that you are not afraid of in any way. Like, “This isn’t working, we need to move you, we need to move this,” and I think that’s a good skill for any director to have – you know, student or not.

AMELIA: Yeah.

LINDSAY: So, when that first rehearsal happened and everyone was sort of looking at you, how did you dive in? How did you approach it?

AMELIA: Well, I’d read over the play a couple of times and I already had had ideas so I set out my ideas as far as I thought would be good for the play and then I just asked their ideas because, all in all, it was an ensemble piece and, because it’s hard to look at a person – like, a peer – sometimes as like a leader so I try to just include everyone and try not to be super bossy – although I was at some points. But, yeah, I just talk to them and that was really a big thing, I think, which is actually including everyone but also having that line where it’s like… but together, I, you know, do make a lot of the decisions.

LINDSAY: How do you find that line?

AMELIA: It’s hard line to find, I guess, but just when people would say their idea and then I go, “Okay. How about we do this instead?” and they’re like, “Yeah, okay!” and then just talking.

LINDSAY: Communicating.

AMELIA: Yeah, communication is a big thing.

LINDSAY: Yeah, instead of, “I’m going to tell you what to do.”

AMELIA: Yeah.

LINDSAY: It’s like, “Let’s do this and see how it goes.”

AMELIA: Yes, exactly. And so, that was really what it was. A lot of it, you know, sometimes I did go, “Okay, do this,” but a lot of times would be like, “Do you feel comfortable doing this?” or “How about try this and, if that doesn’t work, you can keep doing this.” But, you know…

LINDSAY: What was your biggest challenge?

AMELIA: Biggest challenge – one of them was getting people to show up and having a full cast. Another challenge was just helping people really communicate what they mean when they’re saying certain things. Like, with the one character, Justin.

LINDSAY: Yes.

AMELIA: He had a problem with really opening up to us.

LINDSAY: Yes.

AMELIA: And that’s a big thing, and I get it. Like, it was his first play that he was, you know, like a lead in kind of thing, and so he was kind of shy and awkward about it. But, you know, it’s a challenge to get a person who’s new with acting to really jump into it and really get it so that was a challenge, and just repeating things and going over things and over and over and over. Also, just keeping my cool when things weren’t going right.

LINDSAY: Right.

AMELIA: Yeah, that’s a big thing.

LINDSAY: So, how did you deal with someone like Justin? What choices did you make to try and draw him out?

AMELIA: Well, there were some points where I said, “Okay, how about we go to this side of the room? You rehearse your lines just to me and, you know, I can help.” He’d say everything and then I go, “Okay, at this point, do this and this and this,” he’d do it again. And so, that’s like a big thing. For a while, he memorized his lines and stuff. But I think it was also, at one point, I did send him out and I was like, “Okay, do this in front of all of us,” and he was uncomfortable with that. But, after a while, we all kind of ended up being like a family at the end so it was really good. It was hard at the beginning because, a lot of people, we just didn’t know each other and, you know, you’re expected to just work with each other. You don’t really know anyone so I did actually do, like, a trust thing kind of…

LINDSAY: Yeah.

AMELIA: You know, I was like, “Okay, how about we have one lunch where we just sit around and we can have our lunch and we sit in a circle and we just talk and tell each other about each other?” and that actually helped a lot.

LINDSAY: Well, because it is all about trust, isn’t it?

AMELIA: It is. When you’re onstage, if you mess up, you’re trusting your fellow actor to help you out and that’s a big thing – you need to trust everyone that you’re with onstage. It’s just like sports, really, you know.

LINDSAY: I think that’s the biggest thing that anyone can learn – that, when you’re in the middle of something and someone messes up a line, to not stand there and go, “Well, I’m just going to wait till they do the right thing.”

AMELIA: Yeah, because you’re a team, right? And I think it’s hard for some people, they look at acting and they’re just like, “Well, you’re just on your own with acting.” No, you have to work together. Also, improvise.

LINDSAY: Yes.

AMELIA: It’s a big thing when you’re onstage. I know I have problems even still with the improvising but you just have to go along with it. Like, you just keep going with it. Somebody forgets doing something then you just do it or you hint in a different way.

LINDSAY: Kick them under the table.

AMELIA: Yeah!

LINDSAY: And that’s where the more you know who your character is and where your story is, you’re kind of you’re not exactly sure. It’s like, “Well, this is the moment when I’m supposed to be this.”

AMELIA: Yeah, and that’s why a lot of big things – like, Randy’s moment at the end.

LINDSAY: Yes.

AMELIA: When, you know, she was doing that for a long time, it was really just she would say it and then it would be gone. I had to work with it because it was like, you know, “This is your moment. This is the moment where Randy is coming out of being this quiet kind of Bleep Bleep Girl and, you know, she’s never really part of everything. The way I had it is she’s at the end and stuff like that. So, at the end, when she’s talking to Mandy, it’s a big thing, you know? She seems like a genuine person and not like a crazy Bleep Bleep Girl, right?

LINDSAY: Yeah.

AMELIA: And so, I really made her emphasize on talking to the audience and talking to Mandy at the same time, and just the way she put her body out onstage, right? And I told her, the Bleep Bleep Girls are very tense and really in a certain position. And so, I said, “Relax. When you’re saying this, you’re relaxing.” You know, I made her, like, so and so, she’s doing her line and slowly she relaxes. And, at the end, when she really realizes it, I made her a pause and just have that moment where she’s looking at the audience and, you know, Mandy’s looking at her, and there’s this connection kind of thing. You know, that’s the way I saw it and just she walks up and is saying all this and then snaps back into being a Bleep Bleep Girl and she’s like, “Ugh! Okay, I had my moment, I have to go back.”

LINDSAY: Yeah. Did you ever have times when you were trying to get across your vision, you’re trying to get across something, and it’s hitting a brick wall?

AMELIA: Yeah, my vision with having people come out of the garbage and stuff like that, it did somewhat come together. Trying to communicate certain things that I see myself and other people don’t see, it’s so hard because it’s like I can picture it so clear and you just can’t explain it the proper way that people are going to understand. Yeah, that was definitely one thing and, you know, I wanted it to be a dramatic thing when they come in the garbage, right? Especially when the reporter pops up, right? It’s got to be, like, “Don’t call her garbage!” kind of thing and I wanted to make that really dramatic – garbage flies and you know, especially with Justin, that was really hard to work with just his, you know, enthusiasm and also, like, you know, when he screams. It’s like, “Scream, you’re scared.”

LINDSAY: This would be the point.

AMELIA: Yeah, and working with, like, falling and stuff like that was also a big thing. It’s like, when you fall onstage, you’ve got to make that fall, and when the reporter falls, she’s interrupting the Smart Mouth so she’s got to fall. For a while, it was really hard because, you know, a Smart Mouth finishes his line but I’m like, “Okay, guys, it’s an interruption, you know? He’s not finished his thought but you interrupt his thought, right?” So, that was also…

LINDSAY: So, how did you feel – because I saw you, you had one rehearsal – how many rehearsals did you have after I saw you before you performed in competition?

AMELIA: Hmm. Well, we ended up really buckling down and I had a Facebook page and I just said, I was like, “Guys, we need to start being committed,” and they realized, like, I was getting stressed out and, when I get stressed out, they know, “Don’t mess with her” kind of thing. So, I got everyone, you know, go in the hallway, go down to the drama room, and I got everyone down there and I gave them a little speech that, you know, we had a week and that’s when we really buckled down and I was like, “Okay, we have a week every day,” you know? I was really chill about having Fridays off and having every other… you know, people telling me, just let me know if you can’t come, I can work around it. But, at that point, I was like, “No, everyone, no excuse. I don’t care. You’ve got to come because it’s a week and just give me a week of your time and then you can have the rest of the time to be on your own,” and I don’t think that got through to people but we managed to get it together and we managed to get some good stage time too which helped a lot.

LINDSAY: It’s different, eh? It’s so different when you’re in your little classroom than when you actually have to traverse, figure out how long it takes to…

AMELIA: Yeah, and it’s also just, you know, say like how long it takes to walk across stage and how long it takes for the person to get over there and, you know, different lines where it’s like, “Okay, well, they’re saying this line, be moving,” or different things like that. When you’re onstage, you have this big stage to work with.

LINDSAY: It changes everything.

AMELIA: It really does.

LINDSAY: I was talking to a director and I was watching his show and he had just like these long, long blackout changes and he just went, “My classroom is this big and the theatre was this big,” and it’s hard!

AMELIA: Yeah, that was a problem at the festival, actually – the blackouts.

LINDSAY: Yeah.

AMELIA: It was a problem. It didn’t really work out well. There was miscommunication with the cues and stuff like that. And so, actually, the one blackout made it work. It was Tandy, Carly. She made it work where we were all standing onstage and there was this really long blackout and she kind of went up and she was like, “Uhum, excuse me?”

LINDSAY: Nice!

AMELIA: And she saved it and everyone laughed! And it felt like, okay, maybe that was supposed to happen.

LINDSAY: Yes!

AMELIA: Because, in all, the play, the audience was involved.

LINDSAY: Yes, that’s all you want, man!

AMELIA: Exactly.

LINDSAY: That’s exactly what you want.

AMELIA: You’ve got to keep the audience involved. Every time I talk to them about it, they kind of forgot that you can talk to the audience. They’re there. We know they’re there. That wall is broken.

LINDSAY: Well, in that play, they’re not only there. They’re part of the play. They’re part of the experience.

AMELIA: Exactly. So, that was probably one of the things that was hard to get across too – talk to the audience. You don’t have to turn and talk to the person onstage. You’re talking to the audience as well.

LINDSAY: I think that’s one thing that I said to you guys – that they’re your ultimate scene partner.

AMELIA: Exactly.

LINDSAY: It’s not the person onstage. It’s the person in the audience who’s part of the whole thing.

AMELIA: Yeah.

LINDSAY: This segues nicely into you got to festival and so what was that experience like to see your baby, basically?

AMELIA: Yeah, really, it was pretty actually incredible.

LINDSAY: Yeah?

AMELIA: It was a very proud moment.

LINDSAY: Yeah?

AMELIA: Especially after we performed. I was just really proud of everyone and seeing them, like, it was a moment where it was, like, it almost made me want to cry just of happiness because I was so proud and I was so proud that people that I had my doubts about proved me wrong, and that is honestly like the best feeling.

LINDSAY: Sure.

AMELIA: Especially when you’re worked so hard. Like, I worked really hard on this so, for it to come together and for, you know, say, Tandy to do what she did, that was amazing. I was like, “Yes, exactly what you needed to do.” Trevor, the guy who played Smart Mouth, he just went from here to here. So, we performed and I was watching him and I was going, “Yes!”

LINDSAY: “Where was this in rehearsal?”

AMELIA: Yes!

LINDSAY: “Where was this?”

AMELIA: I mean, even the guy who played Poet, Curtis, he blew me away as well. He just got onstage and, you know, he looked comfortable, he got up and he did his poems. He memorized them. That was really good and just, like, you know, he was really good and his British accent? Everyone commented on it. They were all like, “Is he actually British?” Like, “No, no,” and I think that was really good and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew they did a good job because they did, you know? But it was also kind of a setback because I was also onstage so I acted in it as well so that was kind of like, when something went wrong, I’m standing there and I’m just like, “Okay, keep your cool, don’t walk away. Whoo!”

LINDSAY: Do not freak out. Do not freak out.

AMELIA: Yeah, kind of thing, especially with the cues. That’s a major thing. Being a director you need patience.

LINDSAY: Yes.

AMELIA: It’s a huge thing with not only your actors but especially when you’re getting ready to go onstage with the lighting, it takes time.

LINDSAY: And it’s all out of your control, isn’t it, you know?

AMELIA: It really is, and I tried explaining that. It was really frustrating because we were trying to get our lights together and everyone is getting frustrated and they were all like, “Can we rehearse? Can we rehearse?” I’m like, “No, we need to get this down.” So, that was hard but we made it through and I think it was good. All in all, it was good.

LINDSAY: Yes, and then you ended up with a student directing award?

AMELIA: Yeah, the Mac Dodge Award.

LINDSAY: Which is kind of cool.

AMELIA: It’s kind of cool.

LINDSAY: Yeah?

AMELIA: It’s kind of big.

LINDSAY: Yes, it’s huge! I know, I saw it, it’s in the office. It’s like this mammoth thing.

AMELIA: Yeah, when I got called up at the ceremony, I actually couldn’t carry it offstage. I was wearing heels and a dress and everything and I walk up and I’m standing there and he kind of pulls me in and he’s just like, “It’s really heavy. I don’t think you can carry this,” and I went, “Oh, okay,” and I looked at it and I was like, “Oh, yeah, okay! I can’t carry that,” and I walked off. You know, what was funny is they actually called me Lindsay Price.

LINDSAY: And it’s like, “Nuh-uh!”

AMELIA: I was like, “She wrote the play.” I was like, “I wish!”

LINDSAY: “I’m the director.”

AMELIA: Yeah, so I had to correct that. They called up Lindsay Price and I went, “No, not… no.” So, I went up and she was just like, “Oh, it’s actually Amelia.” I was like, “Yeah… Lindsay wrote the play.” It was funny, yeah.

LINDSAY: Okay. So, that’s your first experience.

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: Warts and all. Do you want to do it again?

AMELIA: I would love to do it again.

LINDSAY: So, what would you change next time?

AMELIA: Hmm. Next time, I would maybe not act in it.

LINDSAY: Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.

AMELIA: Mm-hmm, if I wanted to pursue, because I’m on the fence with directing and acting. I love being onstage. I love the attention I get after I’m onstage and so that would be hard thing to leave but I also love directing and having a say in what’s going on onstage and, even if I didn’t, it was a learning experience in itself and I have that even to put on my resume.

LINDSAY: Absolutely.

AMELIA: Responsibility of being a director and, yeah, just the experience. It was awesome and I loved it. Whether I go into acting or whether I do more directing…

LINDSAY: It’s something that you did that you can play forward in whatever you do.

AMELIA: Exactly.

LINDSAY: What would you like to learn more about? If you were going to do it, what’s something that you thought you wish you knew more about?

AMELIA: Maybe placing things onstage.

LINDSAY: Staging.

AMELIA: Like, the set?

LINDSAY: Oh, the set stuff, yes.

AMELIA: The set stuff. I’d like to learn more about visual, like, where it’s going to go and what’s going to be best for people to move around and stuff because we actually had a bit of a comment from what we did was we had garbage on each side of the stage which is, you know…

LINDSAY: That was something you really wanted.

AMELIA: Yes.

LINDSAY: Like, you wanted it all over.

AMELIA: Yeah. And so, we had that but then, you know, she kind of made this image on a piece of paper that looked so much better and I was like, “I wish I could have imagined that.” And so, I don’t know, just setting things onstage and everything like that, I’d probably like to learn more about. Then, just learning how to properly communicate with people, I guess.

LINDSAY: How to make people do exactly what I want.

AMELIA: Yeah, without pushing it.

LINDSAY: Yes, yes, making it seem like it’s their idea.

AMELIA: Exactly, yeah, which it was good. It worked out. We all had a say and it was good and, actually, we got the comment by the adjudicator too after that she could see how well we worked together and that really came down to us being close as a cast and it makes a huge difference in the play.

LINDSAY: I think it does, too. The whole idea that – because, when I saw your rehearsal and there was a lot of struggle – as a group, you were working together to solve a problem. You weren’t fighting and there wasn’t like, “She’s saying this and he’s saying this!” It was very communicative.

AMELIA: That also helped as well that there were different personalities that we had. We all had our own kind of personalities and our own creativeness and we just worked together well. You know, they knew I was the boss. They knew that I like things the way I like it and so I think they also learned to communicate with me.

LINDSAY: Ah, yeah! Sure, why not? But that’s part of it too because sometimes you get a director who nobody feels comfortable talking to or going to because it’s sort of the tyrant.

AMELIA: I really tried to make it so, like, “If you can’t make it practice, don’t have a problem coming up to me in the hallway and saying you can’t come.” You know, I think for a little bit it was intimidating to come watch me and say that but I was like, “Seriously, I’m a nice person. You can come up and talk to me, I swear!”

LINDSAY: Yeah.

AMELIA: That was a big thing – just being comfortable with everyone and being comfortable with each other. For a lot of people, it was their first time onstage and so that was a big thing. I’ve been onstage before and so that actually gave me quite an advantage. Being a director as well, I knew what it was like to be onstage. I could put myself in their position – being onstage – being an actress myself. I can relate and I can go, “Okay, well, when you’re onstage, it’s better to place yourself this certain way because it’s just more comfortable,” and, you know, “Do things that are comfortable for you. Obviously, there’s going to be certain things that you do that you’re really uncomfortable with doing but, as an actor and actress, you just need to do it.” That’s the way it needs to be to really get it across.

LINDSAY: I think that’s one other really great tip. If you want to direct, I think it’s really important to have acted or to have tried to write a play. You know, the whole notion of you saying, “I want to know how the set works,” you know? Because that’s going to just make your picture.

AMELIA: Honestly, I did some tech stuff too. When we we’re putting up lights and everything, I was like, “I want to learn how to put up lights.” That was a big thing and just learning the board and stuff like that. I like to learn different things. Okay, tech – maybe not my thing – it isn’t, I know that, okay? And I know I can do acting and I know I can do directing so I’ve got those two things that kind of go together.

LINDSAY: It really is and I think it all just circles right back down to that whole communication thing. Like, how are you going to talk to your lighting technician if you’ve never worked a board?

AMELIA: Exactly! And, you know, I can say, “Okay, we’ll move that button and see what that does,” right? If I just know what I’m talking about, like, Mr. Fiocca, he knows and that helps him because he knows he can just go over to the board and go, “Okay, we’ll look at that, do that. Put that down.” I want to be able to do that.

LINDSAY: Okay. As we wrap up here, what advice would you give to other students who are in a position to direct at their school?

AMELIA: Just go for it. Like, really know how you’re feeling – one. Know your ideas. Know that not everyone is going to listen to you and not everyone is going to get what you’re saying and you really just have to stick with your opinions and your thoughts and visions and just go for it. You know, don’t stress yourself out either. That was a big thing for me as I stress myself out about little things and it’s just, you know, it’s going to go the way it’s going to go.

LINDSAY: At that point, it really is, you know? When the lights go awry or the things go awry.

AMELIA: It’s going to go. You can’t control it. You can’t control what happens now. It’s out of your control.

LINDSAY: No, the only thing you can control is what you’ve done up to that point with your actors.

AMELIA: Exactly, yeah. You can be like, “Okay, they did what I told them to do.” If they didn’t do it, then it’s like, “Well, okay, I guess they didn’t take my advice.”

LINDSAY: “Next time.”

AMELIA: “Next time.” Yeah, just patience as well – like, a lot of patience, especially just actually being the director and having to deal with the lights and stuff, it was such a different thing. I was the actor last year and I was stressed out because we couldn’t rehearse properly because of the lights. At this point, this year, I was like, “I totally understand how Fiocca was feeling now.”

LINDSAY: Yes, when everyone was like, “Can we do this? Can we do this?”

AMELIA: Yeah, just patience is a big thing when you’re directing.

LINDSAY: Awesome. Well, I was so glad to get Mr. Fiocca’s email where he’s like, “Oh, we got an award! The thing went well.” That’s the ending that you want, isn’t it?

AMELIA: It is, it really is, and I was really proud of Carly who got her award. I was very proud of her because she did do a great job and all. She was awesome and she was perfect for the role and she knew what she was doing and I can see her going far with it. If she wanted to, she could do acting and a lot of them can, really. Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.

LINDSAY: You never know. You never know when your name is going to appear on the next directing bill.

AMELIA: Yeah, maybe.

LINDSAY: Next time, they won’t confuse you for somebody else.

AMELIA: Yeah, the person who wrote the play.

LINDSAY: “No, no, it’s me. It’s Amelia all the way.” All right, thank you so much.

AMELIA: Yes, okay, you’re welcome!

LINDSAY: All right, thank you, Amelia!

Ah, show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode134.

Since we talked about a play, I think we should hear a little bit about the play. It’s a play feature! It’s a play feature! It’s time to feature a play!

So, the play that Amelia directed and we were talking about is Censorbleep and Censorbleep deals with censorship to the point where the actual word is bleeped. The play takes place in a world where there is a group of students in a school who are basically the overseers of making sure that students are happy and say nice things and never do anything which might cause a ruckus or make waves. When students try and do this, when they try to be individuals and speak out, well, bad things happen.

Here is a conversation between the leader of a group of girls that are called the Bleep Bleep Girls. They’re the ones who are overseeing the censorship as it were of the school and what happens when a student reporter barges in and wants to know about changes that have been made to a student newspaper article of his.

TANDY: All right, girls. We’re on a deadline. We have to read all the editorials by Wednesday.

THE REPORTER: I demand to see Mr. Shemlit!

SANDY: Hey!

RANDY: You can’t push your way in here.

THE REPORTER: Get out of my way, Barbie.

RANDY: That’s not nice.

CANDY: Stop pushing!

TANDY: Now, now. There’s no need for this behaviour. It’s simply not necessary. Are we not more civilized?

RANDY & CANDY: The Bleep Bleep Girls are cam in chaos.

TANDY: So true, girls.

THE REPORTER: I want to talk to Mr. Shemlit about my article.

TANDY: I’m the editor. You can talk to me. Do you remember this article, Sandy?

SANDY: I do, it was really good.

TANDY: You should be proud of yourself.

THE REPORTER: This is not my writing. This has been cut to shreds.

TANDY: Yes, it has.

THE REPORTER: The quarterback was getting his homework done for him. We proved it and we proved he was cheating and everyone looked the other way. You made him look like a hero.

TANDY: Yes.

THE REPORTER: Why?

TANDY: We fear riots.

THE REPORTER: What?

TANDY: Graham is not just the quarterback. He’s very popular. If you write about him in a poor light, that will make the other students feel sad.

SANDY: We can’t have that.

CANDY: The Bleep Bleep Girls promote good will.

CANDY & RANDY: And prevent ill will.

TANDY: This is not bad bleeping. It’s the best possible kind. Don’t you agree?

THE REPORTER: This is censorship. You can’t—

THE GIRLS: Bleep! Bleep!

TANDY: Such a harsh word. So unnecessary.

THE REPORTER: I’m still going to talk to Mr. Shemlit.

TANDY: If there’s anything we can do to help, let us know.

I think the creepiest villains are the ones that are the sweetest and the nicest and are, you know, in theory, the most civilized. I think they’re the funnest to write and I think the funnest to play.

So, that is Censorbleep by me, Lindsay Price. You can go to theatrefolk.com. Read sample pages for free. You can also go to theatrefolk.com/episode134. I’m putting a link right there so that you can go to the page directly.

Finally, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Tuesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on youtube.com/theatrefolk and you can find us on the Stitcher app. You can also subscribe to TFP on iTunes. All you have to do is search for the word “Theatrefolk.”

And that’s where we’re going to end. Take care, my friends. Take care.

Music credit:”Ave” by Alex (feat. Morusque) is licensed under a Creative Commons license.