Features Ruyle the Stage: Maddy Ruyle Directs Her First Play

The curtain rises on Ruyle’s show April 21.

By ZOE THAXTON, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It’s called a senior capstone, which is the final project that the seniors experience. The seniors select and adapt pieces while being in charge of casting, the rehearsal process and all other elements necessary to make a successful play. Ruyle decided to work with Werner, another senior at the Patel.

“I have known Francesca [Werner] for many years and have been in many performances with her. I knew that working with her would be perfect because we both have different perspectives, but we both respect each other as artists. We knew we were taking on a big task by putting on a full-length play so being that we both are earning certifications, we decided to come together to direct the play with help from each other,” Ruyle said.

Together, they chose the play “The Children’s Hour” by Lillian Hellman, which follows two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, who run a boarding school together. Mary Tilford, a mischievous girl who attends the school, tries to not return and twists the narrative that the women are having a secret lesbian affair to her grandmother, Amelia Tilford. The following events are caused by this rumor and the destruction of these two women’s reputations.

“Going into my capstone project, I really had no clue what to do, but, Francesca and I knew that we somehow wanted to showcase a story that featured in some way the LGBTQ+ community. We did... a bit of research, and once we came across “The Children’s Hour”, we were both instantly drawn to the storyline and how it is a classic dramatic play, based off a true story,” Ruyle said.

“We both wanted to do something that would bring an impact the audience and had the idea about something “contemporary” and something

Summer Job Searching

still on the fence in our society now, but it’s still talked about. We... came to the conclusion that being able to tell an LGBTQ story would be important to show how as a society we have grown since this play has come about,” she said.

A director can’t do a play without any actors, so Ruyle needed to find other teenage actors around Tampa to fill the roles for this play. To her, casting is “the most important decision in this whole process” and it all starts with the audition.

The audition process was an open call, which meant anyone, not just Patel Conservatory students, could audition. Ruyle reached out to others she performed with before but also had social media posts with information regarding the audition (the Patel also posted this information to their students as well). From there, she acted like any other director would, sitting in on auditions with the actors to see the potential for them to play any of the characters. She did callbacks the same night as auditions, having those read directly from the script. Throughout, she was finalizing decisions and helped actors with their portrayal of the characters.

“With some actors, after reading just once for a character, we could automatically make a decision as their choices in acting were spot on and drew us into their potential for a character. For others, we coached them or swapped them in and out to read for many characters to see where their talent would align the most. When making a very difficult decision of multiple actors up for one part, I think what makes my decision every time is the ability of the actor to deliver the emotion behind the words. it’s one thing to read the lines given to you, but it’s another to really go for it and show emotion through your gestures, tone of voice, your breathing, etc.” Ruyle said.

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With summer just around the corner, many RHS students are looking for ways to get extra spending money.

By ASHLYN MILLER, STAFF WRITER

As many students start to become hiring age, they have started to look for an easy job to work for the summer.

Playgrounds on Dale Mabry is one such place where a lot of Robinson students have found work. A lot of teens worry that they won’t have enough time to work while meeting commitments for their other extra curricular activities. Kaelin Kurry (‘25) has not had this problem while working at Playgrounds.

“I would say it’s a pretty flexible job, if you really need to take time off for an event or for sports our manager will let you take off.” Kurry said.

Playgrounds is an indoor bounce-castle park, with a small coffee shop for parents at the front entrance. A lot of the job is watching and interacting with elementary-aged kids.

“We host birthday parties for little kids and for some you can pay to have them after hours. During non-school days, breaks and summer we host camp for kids ages four and up. We take care of them from 8:30 am- 5:30 pm. You can also work the front of house position where you make coffees and check people in.” Kurry said.

They accept applications from anyone as young as 14 on their website, making $11.00 an hour. Plus, whatever tips you make at the counter will go directly to you.

Dominic Hernandez (‘24) is a life guard at the Tampa YMCA. While life-guarding requires more training than many other first job options, It can also prove to be more rewarding. According to Hernandez, the worst part was getting approved for the job.

“It was a pain for me to wait until I received emails and text messages to get accepted,” said

Hernandez.

The hiring process has to be as intense as it is, because one may be put in the situation where you actually have to stop a person from drowning. Even if you never have to use all that training, it’s still important to consider that responsibility when applying, and the effect it may have on you mentally.

“It’s not draining. Just the thought of having to save someone is what keeps me active and such.” Hernandez said.

The YMCA also can offer flexible hours if any other priority should arise during your scheduled work days.

“I love my job and the crew I work with is amazing and I would recommend it to peo ple,” Hernandez said.