Notes

Directing The Boys Next Door was a very Unique experience. The Boys Next Door is a comedy about a group of mentally disabled men. When done correctly, it's humorous, thought-provoking, and can help open audiences' minds to the living condition of the mentally disabled. However, it is very difficult to be able to perform the play in a tasteful manner at the high school level. For the first few rehearsals, the actors' portrayals seemed more mocking than accurate. So the challenge was to find out how to accurately instill a certain respect for the mentally disabled into my actors' psyche. To do this, I had the cast volunteer at a local shelter for the mentally disabled for Christmas. The actors interacted with people with Downs Syndrome, schizophrenia, and other conditions. Everybody had a great time playing games, opening presents, and just chatting in general. When we began practicing again, the actors' characters really began to shine. Their characters were much more true. After the visit, the actors enjoyed exploring their characters, fleshing out their personalities, and perfecting their timing now that they had a better idea of what it meant to be mentally disabled.