They have mastered the art of memorization. Give them 10 minutes and they can restate their monologue without stumbling on a single word. However, this time is different. The play that the repertory theatre students are producing comes straight from their minds. They are writing their own story.

This is the first time at Southwest that the repertory students are writing their own play. With the supervision of theatre teacher Dan Schmidt, the rep students will produce an entire student made monologue. Each person is paired with a group and they are responsible for writing one ten minute scene.

“Writing my own monologue is really different,” sophomore Joann Armstrong said. “I’ve never had to write in preparation for a play before, it usually just consists of memorization.”

Each scene is different because they are all based on separate Springsteen songs. Some of the songs include Meet me Across the River, Thunder Road, the Promise, Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street, and many more.

“I wanted to do something exciting with play writing in my rep class,” director Dan Schmidt said. “We’re taking art and turning it into another form of art. Also, it lets the students have more ownership of the show.”

There are multiple elements that go into producing a play. Usually, the play members have to memorize dialogue and they are responsible for their own character. Using this method, the students get to experience a new aspect of the play process; writing.

“I think it [writing our own play] is a great way for actors to see a different side of theatre,” senior Johnny Tapp said. “The performers don’t always get to be writing so they can miss out on that entire aspect.”

SW is the only theatre in the district to have ever produced a play that is entirely student made. It is a very unique process.

“This is really good for our department because it takes a lot of really mature and talented actors/actresses who are very creative to be able to pull this off,” senior Jake Louis said. “I think the rep students are at that level which is an awesome feeling to experience.”