Wava Chan ’21 and Natalie Brown ’21 shared a running joke while working together on a joint Independent Senior Project (ISP) over the course of the past year.

On a regular basis, Natalie would ask Wava, “How did you get me into this?”

Actually, Natalie had her own answer to the question.

“It’s because I can’t say ‘No!’ to anything,” Natalie said with a laugh, “especially when it is Wava doing the asking.”

Over the past four years, the two had found themselves working together on a series of shows in Westover’s Drama Program — Wava on stage in a range of roles and Natalie behind the scenes tackling technical theatre projects for various productions.

So, when Wava approached Natalie about the possibility of working together on a collaborative ISP to stage one of Westover’s plays during their final year at the School, Natalie said yes.

But, over the course of their unpredictable senior year — thanks primarily to the impact of the pandemic on Westover’s schedule — there were more than a few times when Natalie did indeed turn to Wava and ask, “How did you get me into this?”

Despite the challenges, though, the two classmates succeeded in staging Agatha Christie’s classic mystery, The Mousetrap, in Westover’s Performing Arts Center Theatre on April 17 and 18 as the Drama Program’s spring production. Because of health and safety protocols, seating in the theatre for the show was limited, but both performances were also Livestreamed.

Wava served as the play’s director, while Natalie was the production’s technical director. Marla Truini, the Director of Drama, was Wava’s ISP advisor for the show, while Ian Diedrich, Technical and Audio Video Director, was Natalie’s.

Wava’s desire to direct a show for her ISP was no surprise to Marla.

“Wava set her sights on directing an ISP as a freshman and did what needed to be done to achieve her goals,” Marla explained. “The Drama Program has a prerequisite for student directors that they stage manage a production first. The idea is to give students a chance to learn the ropes of directing and all the organization needed in scheduling rehearsals and communication with the cast and crew.”

Because of scheduling issues, Marla recalled, “Wava asked if she could stage manage a production of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at the Brookfield Center for the Arts during the summer after her sophomore year, rather than stage managing a Westover show, and I approved her request. The director, Craig Rosen, could not have been more complimentary of her work.”

For Ian, serving as Natalie’s advisor as she worked as The Mousetrap’s Technical Director was a chance to watch her put all her skills, knowledge, and experience to use in overseeing a production.

“The lovely thing about seeing students take on their own projects,” Ian explained, “is the amount of growth you witness over the years. Seeing that they can take on a project by themselves is very rewarding for a teacher as well, because it’s affirming that the trust in the students is well placed.”

In choosing a play for their ISP production, Wava and Natalie considered several murder mysteries before selecting the Christie classic, which has the distinction of being the longest-running show in the history of modern theatre. (The original production opened in London’s West End in 1952 and ran continuously until March 16, 2020, when stage performances had to be discontinued because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Wava recalled The Mousetrap as one of the first plays she saw as a child. Although Natalie had never seen a production of the play, she was familiar with other Christie mysteries. “I just needed Wava to convince me,” she added with a laugh.

In late September and early October, Wava and Natalie held open auditions for the eight characters who appear on stage during the production. Originally, they had hoped the show would be performed during the winter, but pandemic conditions led to its postponement until spring.

Because of the pandemic’s impact on the academic schedule, Wava worked with individual cast members over the course of the school year in one-on-one half-hour rehearsals, giving each actor time to explore the characters and their motivation, and to memorize their lines. That process, Wava said, “gave us a strong base” for the production by the time the final weeks of group rehearsals began in the spring.

“It was an extra commitment for some members of the cast,” Wava noted, and she credited their efforts for the show’s success in spite of challenging conditions encountered along the way.

“Wava was incredibly generous to her cast and crew throughout this process,” Marla said. “She respected her ensemble, and they reciprocated. She remained calm under pressure, kept a steady but flexible hand, and asked for help when needed. I heard a lot of laughter during rehearsal, which is always a good sign.”

“Wava prepared thoroughly and stayed on track through several months of Zoom rehearsals,” Marla added, “before they could even be in the same room together. I am in awe of her talent and perseverance.”

Ian was equally delighted with Natalie’s work as the show’s Technical Director.

“I was extremely impressed with Natalie’s ability to lead,” he said, “and, most of all, by her grace under pressure.”

“Every student who puts up their own production,” Ian explained, “brings their own skill set and strengths, so that helps to figure out how best to use their designs and thoughts. Tech was so separated due to the pandemic, and Natalie has such a wonderful way of bringing people together. She was able to recruit other techies and give them a strong common thread within Mousetrap.”

Looking back at the challenges of pulling together the technical aspects of the show in the midst of the pandemic, Natalie said with a laugh, “We just had to get used to crazy this year. We planned for the worst and hoped for the best.”

The final weeks before the show saw most of the cast together on stage for rehearsals — with one notable exception. Wava and Natalie’s classmate, Joyce Yang — who had been in seven Westover shows before The Mousetrap — spent her senior year as a virtual student at home in China. Nevertheless, Joyce was cast as Mrs. Boyle, a character central to the play’s mystery plot.

That meant Wava — with Natalie’s help — faced the challenge of finding a way to bring Joyce’s character on stage while Joyce herself remained in China.

“Wava is a born leader,” Marla noted. “She is quiet but she is mighty. Throughout this process, she was undeterred. Want to cast a classmate who is unable to get to campus due to the pandemic? Add that the student is in China, a 12-hour time difference and that they would need to record all of her lines. Then add that the recordings needed to be synched with the live actors on stage, and then add a rolling dress dummy as the stand-in. Cut to the audience’s complete buy-in for this inventive solution. This is a student director who cares deeply and who thinks creatively. I could not be more proud!”

The final weeks of rehearsal and set construction were challenging. A few weeks before the live performances, the School announced that it would operate virtually for four class days following a long weekend to reduce pandemic risks on campus. That meant that rehearsals on stage and set construction could not take place those four days. But, despite reduced time for the cast and crew in the theatre, they were still able to complete the necessary work to perform the play as scheduled.

“Looking back on it,” Natalie said, “I have no idea how we pulled it off. We had some amazing student volunteers who came forward in the final days to work on the set.”

Ian credits Natalie’s design for making that possible. “When we first spoke about Mousetrap, which typically has a very elaborate set,” he recalled, “Natalie brought a minimalist approach to it, and that gave an interesting spin to the show. We came up with a design that was picturesque but concentrated on the bones of the structure.”

Natalie also praised the behind-the-scenes contributions of Corinne Kadri ’22 for helping on technical theatre projects for the show, and Thea West ’23, who learned how to run the soundboard in the critical final days of rehearsal.

“The first act alone has more than 100 sound cues,” Natalie explained. “Thea picked it up in four days. By the night of the show she was like, ‘I got this.’ I was so proud of her and her work.”

Given the limited time they had to rehearse on stage together, Wava said, “I was really impressed by the whole cast.” She also singled out Kyra Rook ’23 for taking on the major role of Giles Ralston in just her second show at Westover.

Looking back at the ISP experience, Wava said she appreciated that “Marla allowed me to get my hands on it completely, but that she also helped with all the behind-the-scenes work,” coordinating the show’s programs, posters, and other publicity for the show within the Westover community.

Natalie was especially grateful for Ian’s presence in the final weeks leading up to the performances. “I am sure Ian was sick of me after tech week,” Natalie said with a laugh. “He was there just to help me to breathe. Ian was my rock through it all, keeping me calm.”

Marla appreciated the commitment and flexibility that Wava, Natalie, and their cast and crew showed in their work on The Mousetrap during an unsettled time for the School.

“We weren’t sure until about a month before the show if we would be able to have a live audience,” Marla said, “but because of the weekly COVID testing and the contact-tracing capability of the School, we opened the theatre for the first time in over a year to students and faculty.”

“To be in the theatre with a beautiful student-directed show and an enthusiastic audience felt life-affirming,” Marla said, “and I am deeply grateful to Wava, Natalie, and the cast and crew for seeing the production happen against all odds.”

Looking back at her technical theatre career at Westover, Natalie said, “I came to Westover as a sports person” who ended up working on a show the fall of her freshman year and “fell in love with tech immediately and could not let it go. The next thing I know, it’s four years later and I was suddenly in charge of all these techies who are following in my footsteps.”

Having the opportunity to direct The Mousetrap, Wava said, “was a great thing to do to cap off my senior year and to get all of our dedicated actors and techies back together for our final hurrah.”