Senior Reilly Salvador directed a short comedy from Shel Silverstein’s collection of theatrical shorts called “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein.” The short titled “One Tennis Shoe” follows married couple Harvey and Sylvia as Harvey expresses concerns about the surprising and comical items in Sylvia’s bag.
“One Tennis Shoe” was performed on Monday, Dec. 9 at the Redfern Arts Center’s Wright Theatre and served as Salvador’s premiere collegiate directing project.
Salvador said her theatrical resume extends as far back as elementary school, when she auditioned for her first show in the third grade.
“I fell in love with theater at a very young age, when my grandfather would play ‘Les Misérables’ for me,” said Salvador.
“When I was in third grade, I decided to try out for the musical and instantly got hooked. I stuck with it throughout middle school and high school,” added Salvador.
During Salvador’s senior year of high school, she said the opportunity to direct a show became available.
“I knew I wanted to try it, and I was excited to do what I had seen all the other seniors do. It was an amazing experience, even though the performance happened to be during the pandemic,” said Salvador.
Salvador said her love for theater stayed strong at Keene State College, where she performed in multiple shows with the Theater and Dance Department.
Last year, Salvador was approached by Associate Professor of Theater and Dance Kirstin O’Brien to direct a student-led performance at the collegiate level.
“I was here when directing was an actual major at Keene State, and I was excited for the opportunity to direct again,” said Salvador.
“It’s been a lot of hard but rewarding work putting this together. We’ve been working on this since Halloween, and I couldn’t be more proud of the amazing people I’m working with,” added Salvador.
Laboratory Manager and Technical Director Craig Lindsay worked with Salvador on the technical aspects of the performance and praised Salvador’s ability to manage multiple aspects of the production process.
“She did a fantastic job, and it was great working together,” said Lindsay.
“As a director, there’s so many different aspects of a show you have to focus on, and [Salvador] did that wonderfully. It’s so important to find your passion, but also stay curious about other things and explore a wide field of interests,” added Lindsay.
First-year Gracie Petit played the role of Sylvia and said she enjoyed having the opportunity to perform comedic roles.
“I’m an acting major, and am always looking for ways to get more involved with shows on campus,” said Petit.
“When I read the script, I was instantly drawn into the character. I love playing bubbly, comedic characters that I can bring to life, and this show was a great chance to do that,” added Petit.
First-year Brad Herlihy played the role of Harvey and said the short show was good practice for performing in larger shows in the future.
“[Salvador] did a great job directing us, and she really made it a comfortable working environment. I really think starting with a smaller show like this will help me with those bigger shows down the line,” said Herlihy.
Salvador said the performance was enjoyable and expressed appreciation toward everyone involved.
“I couldn’t be happier, and I’m so excited for how everything went tonight. Everyone did such an amazing job and I hope they’re as proud as I am,” said Salvador.
Junior Amanda Sennett said she attended the performance to support her friends.
“I was excited to see all the hard work they put into this. [Herlihy] and [Petit] did such an amazing job acting, and [Salvador] did an equally amazing job directing,” said Sennett.
“I was laughing the whole time, and all of them just did a terrific job,” added Sennett.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
