The Journey to Becoming Assistant Directors

Every time Sarah Sparks looks at her phone, she’s reminded of the here and now—and the 6-year-path to that here and now. Every time Lauren Dong hears a song from Into the Woods, she’s reminded of her journey from Cinderella’s Mother to assistant director.

And every time the two 21-year-old college seniors return to their respective universities—Dong to UC San Diego, Sparks to UCLA—they’re reminded of why the SCR Conservatory made college theatre easier.

Meanwhile, Dong and Sparks are making the challenges of Into the Woods easier for the Summer Players, serving as assistant directors to Director Hisa Takakuwa and Music Director Erin McNally. Into the Woods runs through Sunday, Aug. 13 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

This is a natural fit for numerous reasons. First, both are products of the SCR Youth Conservatory. Dong attended the conservatory for nine years, taking part in six Summer Players shows. Sparks spent eight years in the conservatory, along with five Summer Players productions.

Second, one of those productions was the Summer Players’ 2017 production of Into the Woods, where—as 15-year-olds—Dong played Cinderella’s Mother and Sparks portrayed Little Red Riding Hood.

Third—and as a likely result—both are big Sondheim fans. Sparks so much that her phone screen-saver is a scene from the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Sunday in the Park with George.

As assistant directors, Dong and Sparks help the Players with melody work and character work, and are ready and reliable resources to answer any questions on the script, the characters, the music. Because both are well-versed in the production, they’ve even filled in as understudies when an actor is absent during rehearsal.

“I think the first word that comes to mind when I think of Sondheim is ‘precision.’ When he writes every single note and every single word, he’s able to defend that,” Dong said. “… The important thing is giving justice to what he’s written. Performing it, you have to roll on all four wheels at once because the important thing is giving justice to what he’s written. You have to be really sure you’re honoring his work because everything is written for reasons.

“That’s the genius of Sondheim. What makes him the greatest composer and lyricist of all time is he gives you so many answers.”

In a clear example of how well the two work together, Sparks picked up that baton and took it further.

“I think the best part of Sondheim is if you have a question, there’s an answer in the text for the music,” she said. “I think a lot of times as an actor, you might question 'what am I thinking' and you listen to the cello line and it tells you what you should be thinking. It’s something that will tell you exactly where your character is at. I think the reason so many people like to do his work is it provides a roadmap for everyone.

“As an assistant director, I think it’s really fun to be able to start teaching that to these younger people and helping them get excited about Sondheim because he gives you those answers.”

Dong and Sparks are in positions to give those answers. McNally reached out to them and invited them to dinner, which gave the pair the opening to inquire about assistant directing roles. All along, McNally was hoping this was where dinner conversation was going.

“We trust them to do what we need,” McNally said. “We send people to them (during rehearsals) and we could never do what we do in the way we do it without them. Now, we can have full orchestration because we have assistant directors who take what we do with the kids and give them time and information to explore more. It’s awesome. They’re amazing.”

Takakuwa pointed out the beauty of the Summer Players—the only Players production combining actors of all ages—is it gives alums like Dong and Sparks the opportunity to not only return, but contribute in key ways.

“Erin and I are thrilled to have Lauren and Sarah with us this summer,” Takakuwa said. “They are two incredibly special artists and people. Both showed such consistent passion and dedication during their training years with us and have grown into beautifully confident young theatre creators and storytellers. They both bring great musical talent, love for language, and the ability to communicate with and guide our young cast with fun, clarity respect and compassionate awareness.

Dong and Sparks wasted little time explaining where that knowledge base came from. Both talked at length about how the SCR Conservatory provided a seamless transition to college theatre. Neither wants to pursue acting professionally; Sparks’ passion is in playwriting, directing and producing, and Dong’s is producing and “making opportunities for myself where I don’t see any.”

Their SCR training gave them this ability.

“I think when a lot of kids get to college, they’re waiting for a director to tell them what to do. SCR is the opposite of that,” Dong said. “SCR taught me to value my own voice. Because we’re focused on storytelling, I got exposure to a lot of texts: Shakespeare, the Greeks, Chekhov. A lot of kids don’t have experience with that.

“As an actor, SCR teaches you to be a good ensemble member. You learn to be responsible for not only your own actions, but how they impact other people. If you’re late for a cue, it impacts other people. All this gives you the tools to answer your own questions. We have super-smart actors in this production because SCR builds the foundation. It gives you the room to play and the room to make choices.”

Sparks said that she and Dong talk about that a lot. The professional approach of the Summer Players—with working designers, stage management, et-al—goes a long way in teaching the craft of theatre.

It provided knowledge that Sparks readily admits gave her a head-start over her classmates.

“SCR and the Summer Players especially prepared us so much for college and the more professional realm of theatre. I didn’t realize that until I got to college. I realized I had a lot of the answers to the questions my fellow students had,” Sparks said.

“… I had an understanding of the development of the production process more than what my fellow students had. I knew what a tech week looked like. I had experience in fight choreography. I was doing cue-to-cue (giving lighting and sound cues). We watched people like Hisa and Erin do their jobs and how they conduct themselves is really important.”

Come Into the Woods with the Summer Players, running through Sunday, Aug. 13 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.