By Grace Hawkins

The lights of the theater dim and the crowd hushes as a young woman ascends the stage. Dressed in formal black, she carries herself with an air of confidence on the stage and seems at home in the theater. She introduces the play, exits, and the stage lights come on.

Senior Tatyana Sampson is the student director of Grady’s one act Tracks. The play focuses on the whims of human nature in the face of death. Tracks won first place in the Regional One Act Competition on Oct. 25, beating out its opponent, The Ten Best Things About High School produced by Redan High School. In addition to earning the first-place trophy, the cast also brought home awards for Best Actor (sophomore Ben Grady) and Best Actress (junior Chloe Citron), and two cast members were named in the All-Region cast, sophomore Anna Hutchins and Cheyenne Love. Tracks advanced to the state competition Nov. 1, but did not place in the top four of the eight plays in the competition.

In the 40-minute play, characters from various backgrounds find themselves on the platform of a subway station. At first, as if in a dream, the characters don’t question their various means of arriving at the station. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that they all come from different cities and don’t remember why they need to catch a train in the first place. After recounting their most recent memories, the truth becomes clear: they are all dead, and the entrance to the afterlife is the subway station. The one problem that remains is that they don’t know if the train will take them to heaven or to hell.

Sampson was given the opportunity to direct Tracks when drama teacher Jake Dreiling was unable to direct due to familial obligations. Being an approachable but firm leader was a challenging task for Sampson, she said.

“[My biggest difficulty was] getting all of the cast members to respect me,” Sampson said. “That was something I was really worried about.”

At first, Sampson’s cast members were uneasy about being directed by a fellow student but her peers say Sampson quickly won them over.

“My skepticism [was] gone,” senior Jack Arnold said. “I [was] so honored to be working with someone so talented and someone so smart, and who knows theater so well.”

Sampson gained the respect of her cast by focusing on unity and team-building. During rehearsal, Sampson would engage her cast in games designed to form bonds between the members. These activities included physical conditioning, mass improvisation and even heartfelt confessions to fellow cast members. Sampson’s cast-bonding activities served to break the ice and turn the cast’s focus to creating a quality production.

“All the team-building exercises she did at the beginning helped so much in the end,” Grady said. “They helped us have chemistry together, know each other better and actually become friends. Once I got to know everybody, it was so much easier to talk to them naturally on stage.”

Sampson’s effective choices distinguished her as a competent director, despite her age.

“I feel like they really respect me, not only as their peer but as their director,” Sampson said. “It’s a great accomplishment.”

The activities Sampson had her cast do also formed emotional connections between cast members.

“At one point during rehearsal, we were playing this game where we had to be completely silent, just stare at each other and [then] say one true thing about ourselves,” Citron said. “[Sampson] just stood up there for a full minute, and she looked at us and she was like, ‘I love you all so much; I don’t regret a single choice. This is has been so amazing.’”

Through her leadership, Sampson also developed a rapport with her cast as a strong director and a good leader.

“[Sampson] was a fantastic director,” said senior Connor Loveless, who made his Grady theater debut with Tracks. “She made the cast feel like a family, and it was amazing.”

Sampson believes the responsibility she took on by directing Tracks was worthwhile.

“I have laughed, cried and woken up in the middle of the night all because of this show,” wrote Sampson in her director’s note on the play. “[Tracks] is the most rewarding piece of work I have accomplished.”