Interview: A Moment with Student Director Grace Zottig of Rollins College's THE FOREIGNER

As the school year begins again we get a fresh crop of productions from our local colleges. To kick off this season Rollins College presents THE FOREIGNER. Grace Zottig is a senior and is gaining some hands on experience at directing alongside Thomas Ouellette. Grace took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my questions. It is refreshing to hear from someone just at the start of her career. Take a look:

Grace Zottig, you are a graduating senior at Rollins College. I hear your major is directing. What is it about directing that you like?

I am a senior this year! For me, directing is creating a vision inspired by tangible pieces of a production: the script and then the actors. There is something so important and thrilling to me about leading a group of artists into a journey, trying things out, and seeing what works or what doesn't. I am also a stage manager here at the Annie Russell, which allows the organizational side of my brain to flourish, but directing really pushes me creatively.

You are assisting Thomas Ouellette with directing THE FOREIGNER. What has that experience been like?

Thomas has been one of my mentors here at Rollins, and I have had gained so much experience working with him in different capacities. He has given me the opportunity to direct a few short scenes within THE FOREIGNER, give constructive notes to the actors during rehearsals, incorporate my own artistic choices, and mold the characters of the play with the actors. More than anything, I have been able to shadow Ouellette and really learn his directing techniques from watching the rehearsal process. A few things I now understand are: how to push a cast through a short rehearsal turn-around, how to communicate notes with actors and designers, the glory of an organized prompt-book, when to let things go, and how to help your actors motivate their blocking and characterization. Nothing beats a hands-on learning experience, and Thomas Ouellette is challenging me every moment that he can.

In THE FOREIGNER, the main character Charlie pretends that he cannot speak/understand the people around him. This of course leads to people confessing some interesting stories. What parts of the story do you think audiences will enjoy the most?

The stories that are divulged to Charlie, portrayed by James Blaisdell '17, by the characters in the THE FOREIGNER are all so relevant to a portion of any community. Catherine, the debutante, played by Lily E. Garnet '17, confesses her deep and inner thoughts to a listening Charlie, thinking that he cannot understand a word. This is exactly what she wants, what she has been craving. I firmly believe that sometimes, people simply want to be listened to without receiving any response in return-- and that's okay!

You are very active in the Rollins theater community. I believe you are part of Rollins Improv Players, Co-President of Rollins Players, and a part of the box office team. So I imagine that the cast of THE FOREIGNER are some of your friends. What is it like directing them and really working with them?

Yes, I am quite the busy bee! I have been used to working with my peers in many capacities: a leader, stage manager, director of short scenes... but never in the same realm as I am now. I have pretty strong ties with every member of the cast, which makes the process fun but has lead to slight anxiety. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, I struggled with giving notes to my peers for two different reasons: I was not comfortable with myself, and I was not sure they would respond to my note due to our similar status. I quickly learned that I was trusted completely by the cast, whether we were friends, best friends, significant others, or not. I learned to use our commonality to my advantage, and with just an adjustment in tone and focus, I flip from peer to director pretty easily now!

Tell me about the show you are directing as part of the Fred Stone Second Stage Series in April?

In April, I will be directing SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson at the Fred! Inspired by history, the show follows Henrietta Leavitt, an overlooked astronomer from the early 1900s, through her journey of discovery. She joins two other women "computers" at the Harvard Observatory, works hard, and is never able to touch the telescope. The show tackles how women's voices and discoveries were dismissed, and how they continued to pursue their dreams, despite the push-back. I hope to be half as determined through my process of directing the show as Henrietta was over anything she did.

SILENT SKY sounds quite thought provoking and beautiful. Much different from the loud comedy of THE FOREIGNER. Does it take you out of your comfort zone at all?

Actually, THE FOREIGNER is actually the show that is taking me out of my comfort zone more! There is definitely a sense of magic in the show, but not nearly as much as SILENT SKY calls for (which I am stoked about!) THE FOREIGNER is such a wonderful comedy, and I had yet to get my hands on a piece where the timing of every moment of the show is so drastically important. SILENT SKY definitely has a lot of comedic moments layered within it, and FOREIGNER is just preparing me to accomplish those moments when I get there!

April is very close to May, which will signify the end of your college career at Rollins. What is your biggest takeaway from all the things you've done and learned from the program?

The Rollins Theatre & Dance Department has shown me that if I throw myself into the fire, I can come out alive. Theatre can be a really scary place to have a career, and an especially scary place to feel like you can succeed. With the help of the faculty and staff, they have shown me that with some hard work and great listening skills, anything is possible. My biggest takeaway, by far: run towards fear. Chances are, if you are afraid now, better you overcome it sooner and learn from your mistakes as you go.

Where do you hope to be after you graduate? New York? On tour?

Oh, no. Please do not start this now! I will speak for most of the graduating class of 2017: I will be going on an extensive journey to find balance in my life, both artistically and intellectually. I might end up working for an AmeriCore group like City Year, staying in Orlando and landing an internship with a local theatre, getting a job on a cruise line, a different country... I wish I can predict where I will be when I graduate-- my Type-A personality is begging for that! Yet, if there is anything I have learned from all the speakers that Rollins brings to our courses/community, is that I can not predict that. I will happily let life take me to my next step when it's ready!

Thanks so much for answering our questions. I suspect that we have not heard that last of you and best of luck after graduation!

THE FOREIGNER runs at Rollins College Annie Russell Theater from September 23 to October 1. Be sure to check out BroadwayWorld Libby's review of THE FOREIGNER later that week. For tickets and more information visit http://www.rollins.edu/annie-russell-theatre/current-season/index.html.

Photo credit: Grace Zottig

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