Southmoreland High School senior and four-year play veteran Emma Sarver is “ecstatic” to hear that practice for the high school’s play should be starting soon.

“I heard a rumor that the play might not happen, and it made me really upset,” Sarver said. “It made me appreciate the previous plays, but now that it is, I’m ecstatic for it to start.”

After six months of waiting for approval, middle school English teacher Bethany Hutira has been named as lead director of the school play. High school choral teacher Michele Zamperini will be co-directing this year’s play.

“We know we work well together,” Hutira said. “We know that we are in similar wavelengths in creativity along with the similarization of our ideas.”

Miss Hutira applied for the director’s position in June of 2014 after Mrs. Zamperini informed her of the open position.

“We knew about the open director’s spot last year,” said Mrs. Zamperini. “We have collaborated in the past working with color guard and marching band. She loves the high school clientele, and I knew we would work well together.”

Around this time last year, the high school play would have already begun with practices, but due to the late director appointment, Miss Hutira and Mrs. Zamperini are now going to have to endure a “time crunch” previous directors didn’t have to deal with. Hutira knows a lot of work must be done in order for everything to play out sufficiently.

“When you’re nervous, you care,” said Miss Hutira. “But you just have to make it work.”

Miss Hutira credits her past marching band competitions and middle school play production of Anne Frank for her desire to be involved in theater saying that it “gave her the understanding to create a persona and emulate emotions.”

Auditions for the Southmoreland High School play will be occurring on Jan. 29 after school. This year’s play hasn’t been announced yet, but both Hutira and Zamperini have narrowed down their choices to a couple ideas.

“We want to take a comedic standing with a drama,” said Miss Hutira. “We want people to walk away excited. That’s the goal.”