An Interview with the Director Paige Gober:

Is this your first time directing a play?

"Its my first time directing a full-length production- I was allowed to direct scenes for "The Crucible," our 2006 fall production."

How about the actors? Do you think their doing well? Do you connect and work well with them?

"I must say, MJ's got some pretty talented kids! It's been interesting to direct my peers because I've had to be their coach, teacher, cheerleader, critic, and best friend all at once. I'm glad that I have such a good group because they rise to every challenge and continue to work as hard as they can in this collaborative challenging art form."

Anne Frank ... it's a pretty bittersweet story. Is there any particular reason the Drama Honors Society chose it?

"We had discussed it some last year, so when it came to be time for me to direct this fall, Ms. Springer settled on it. It is a very heart wrenching story but were trying to reach students with the real message: that they have the power to change the world they live in."

Everybody knows that crew is just as important as cast. How are the set design and technical things going?

"Yay! I love technical work, and the set design for this show is very complicated. Its taken several hours and a complete remodeling, but right now the end is in sight. The cast has really come together and brought in some excellent props for us to use. We recently received a donations of 15+ fennel lights from Mr. Palmer and I can't wait to use them!"

Any other words for the potential audience?

"It's theatre. You go to enjoy the experience, but with this show in particular we're trying to inspire our audience and get them thinking about their own life and times. Anne Frank is a timeless tale because it is so honest and representative of the human spirit's triumph and growth despite all against it. Anne Frank's cause should be our own - to see the goodness we are capable of and to instill it in our society."

 

An Interview with the lead actress Besty Ochoa:

Is this your first time in a lead role?

"Yes actually. I was really shocked when they called my name for the lead after auditions. They called role of Anne last, so up till they called my name, I was just like, "looks like its backstage for me again." Ha ha."

Are you working well with the other actors/actresses?

"... I hope so, Ha ha. I haven't gotten to work with a lot of these people, like Phillip Swanson and Henna Garver, so I was really happy to have a chance like this. It was a little awkward at first, since there's a lot of affectionate physical contact in the show but it's become a lot of fun."

Can you relate to Anne Frank?

"At the risk of sounding cheesy and self-important, since the first time I read her diary in middle school, I felt a lot like her. She has a lot of aspirations similar to mine, like becoming a famous writer. I didn't know how ironic this role was for me until they gave it to me. Not to sound pompous or anything. Ha ha."