Student-Directed Play Festival starts this Saturday at noon at Saugus High School

SAUGUS – Students at Saugus High School will be taking the reins of the Drama Club this weekend, as they hold their annual Student-Directed Play Festival on Saturday at noon.The festival will feature three one-act plays, “Rest in Peace,” “My Cup Runneth Over” and “Small Actors.”On Tuesday afternoon, the cast of “Rest in Peace” took the stage to rehearse as junior Shaun Downey directed.Click here for a photo gallery of the rehearsal.?It?s one of my favorite parts of the year,” said Downey. “It?s tough and it?s stressful, but I have fun. I really don?t want to get (the cast) mad, but you have to be kind of strict sometimes.”?Rest in Peace” is a play about a man who dies and watches the aftermath in his hospital room as a ghost.Junior Gabi Bono plays the nurse in the show and said having one of her peers direct her is a lot different.?It?s a little more laid back because it?s your friends,” said Bono. “But it does get strict at times. It?s just fun because it?s someone different directing you so it?s a different perspective.”Bono said she participates ever year, and after the festival, there?s pizza and an award show with judges from the Saugus Theater Company.?We get a lot of criticism which helps us for next year,” said Bono. “It?s looking good so far. The biggest improvements are lines. We?re starting to learn them a lot better.”Senior Erin Bennett is doing double duty as both an actress in “Rest in Peace” and director of “My Cup Runneth Over,” a play about two aspiring artists who live in an apartment and the conflict that arises when one starts to garner more success than the other.?It?s a lot of work and it?s kind of weird being so bossy when it?s your friends,” said Bennett. “It?s fun and it?s cool to see at the end your own work. (The show) is good I think. With only two people in the show, there are a lot more lines for each of them to memorize so that was a big deal.”This is Bennett?s third time directing a play for the festival and she said she?s learned a lot about directing over the years.?I?ve definitely learned to manage my time better and to be more clear with giving directions and to not throw things in at the very end,” said Bennett. “That doesn?t work. At the end, like this week, I wouldn?t go in and redirect them.”For Bennett, Saturday?s festival is more about the Drama Club getting together than having a packed house.?It?s not like our other shows that we do,” said Bennett. “It?s a long day. I feel like this is more for us to learn from and if people come and see it that?s nice. But I think it?s mostly about us learning the other side of theater other than just acting.”Junior Ryan Perry is acting in both “Rest in Peace” and “Small Actors.”Small Actors” is about a girl cast in a school play who tells her parents she was cast as Juliet when she was really cast as a servant.?The parents cancel all their plans and invite all the relatives and fly someone in from Tibet, and it costs $14,000,” said Perry. “But she?s really just the second servant. (The plays) are both on different ends of the comedy spectrum. (?Rest in Peace?) is sort of a dark comedy and the other one is just an outrageous comedy.”As the cast of “Rest in Peace” wrapped for the day Tuesday, Downey and the actors went over some remaining issues still lingering, like forgetting lines, blocking, haircuts and proper ghost noises.?A little less ?whooaaa? and a little more ?woooo,?” Downey said to the two ghosts in the play.For Downey, trying to get his directions across clearly has been the most challenging part of directing.?Working with the actors is the hardest part when they don?t understand you or you don?t know how to word yourself,” said Downey. “It?s hard to be threatening to get them to learn their lines or get them to listen to you because you?re the same age. You don?t really have the intimidation factor.”Perry, however, said Downey has been improving over the last three years.?Shaun has directed me for the past three years and I?ve just been