It was the tail end of sophomore year when we started to hear the little tidbits of a new story that Paley was constructing. Her High School theater program is legit, Thespian Society level, and to polish off her fourth year in the program, the seniors are expected to head a capstone project. For Paley, writing and directing her first show was her vision. While Junior year was underway, she was hashing out plots for two plays, while studying and trying to conquer her Junior year in preparation of college admissions.

Towards the end of her Junior year she was now settled on a show idea, that incorporates her love of story and connection to a little fantasy and mystery. Before the end of her Jr. year, she and her fellow rising seniors had to present their planned projects for approval. At this point what she had written, I guess you would call a treatment for the show. After some deliberation by the teachers, Paley first play was selected as one of the handful of shows being added to theater department lineup for 25/26 school year. She was even given the honor of have her play produced on the main stage (the big theater.) I think at this point Paley was beyond excited, but it lit a fire to really get the show written before school started senior year.

When I started posting about the show recently she gave me the synopsis for the show to share with everyone.

“When the city’s Order Agency captured vigilante Vee, it’s up to their teammates Oak and Mira to rescue them. As heroes Alice and Griff interrogate the captive, everyone soon learns that the agency is not what it seems…”

Last summer, she was extremely swamped with so many school related activities but we were so impressed how she managed her time to finish her final selection for her project. Peaks and valleys of writing, made it all come together, but her dedication to get the project written was extremely rewarding to watch. Senior year commenced and she submitted and put together every aspect of the show, the staging, blocking, costumes, you name it. While she has assistant directed previously, this was a whole new level.

Paley in one of her last elementary school shows.

While running auditions, we had talked about the idea of workshopping the play before jumping into production. I shared my experience with friends who were in the theater, going through workshops before their show headed off to Broadway. My go to story is my friend took me to an early script reading in SF of Wicked and a workshop rehearsal of the production. There I saw Kristin Chenoewith in action for the first time. I think also shared my experience joining another friend in late 93 for workshop rehearsal of RENT in NYC. There I fell in love with Daphne Ruben-Vega.

I digress. Paley spent about two weeks workshopping the play with her cast. The first week was eye opening and we talked about some of the feedback she received. I reminded her, she is the writer and the director, so in the end, she has final say what is accepted and what is passed on. At the end of the workshop period, she was really feeling good about the changes she made and I think she was able to connect more with the cast. Fast forward she has spent the last 4 months in weekly rehearsals, while also attending rehearsals for the theater departments Spring production of Twelfth Night. Neverending for this thespian. I will say the last four years of watching her manage her education and commitments on stage has really allowed her to experiment and face reality about time management as a skill.

She is now in tech week for the play, with the show going on stage this Saturday @ 7PM. Hence why I am writing this post. If you don’t know by now, Paley has had a love for writing since second grade. Her fourth grade teacher, Ms. Harmon really helped her foster this love, but sadly in middle school, she felt it was squashed a little. In my opinion, I think her focus shifted, to exploring different kinds of writing, practices! Paley has explored so many disciplines over the past 9 years. From poetry, to fan fiction, to even story boarding ideas for tv shows, movies or book ideas. She’s still touching on all of them. For the first two years of high school she performed original poems at the district showcase. At this years showcase, she performed her first original monologue which can be seen on our insta account.

6th grade production of “As You Like It”

To her core though, she is a creative writer and that’s where her passion lied when jumping into college applications. More on college later! We are beyond excited for Paley to finally let this production get washed by the stage lights and the cast to take her words and make them their own. We’ve talked about how hard it is to watch your words being practiced over and over. Even harder to see your vision as director morph away from your original plan. There will only be one performance of the play, and while she may feel like a chicken with it’s head cut off, with all the tasks a director needs to do. I think she’s ready to watch the crew and especially the cast take on the play and breath life into it, just for one night.

If you happen to be in the Bay this weekend, and you just happen to be free at 7pm. Consider going to the show. It’s being performed at Leigh High School in San Jose. We’ve purchased a large block of tickets, so your tickets are on us. Shoot me an email or text. And I will make sure your seat(s) are secured. To say we are proud of P. is an understatement. Her dedication has always shown first, and all the other things just fall behind. The show will be wonderful, but watching her shine is everything to the two of us, and the rest of her family. If you want to buy tickets yourself, they’re only $5 each. Here is the link!

Paley’s Big Night: Is It Okay to Be a Vigilante?

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