By Shira Kramer, Editor-in-Chief
Jessica Schechter has been directing theatrical productions for over 20 years. However, this past Stern College Dramatics Society (SCDS) production, Journey Through Ruth, was her first entrance into the world of college theater as SCDS’s new director.
After growing up on Long Island, Schechter received a degree in Educational Theater from New York University and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from Pace University. In addition to her work with SCDS, Schechter is the resident director for Infinite Variety Productions (IVP), a theater company focused on telling stories about women in history. She is also a professional voice actress.
Schechter is excited to bring her expertise to SCDS and hopes to become more involved at Stern College for Women.
How did you hear about the director position?
[SCDS’s previous director] Leah Gottfried is a very close friend and collaborator of mine. I had come to see some of the shows Leah directed at Stern to support her work. I’ve always loved what was happening here. Last year she invited me to come see the musical showcase. Before the showcase, she had mentioned that she may not be coming back the next year and she thinks that I’d be a great fit for the job. So, she submitted my name because she was going to be moving on to other projects.
Do you see a difference between directing professionally versus directing college students?
It’s more of a combination of working together with students, but also teaching at the same time. When I direct professionally, everybody knows their role and you go into the process and we’re all working together to make it happen. But what’s very special about working at a university is that the director plays a dual role where there is the directing, but there’s also a teaching aspect. I’ve been teaching and directing for so many years. It’s nice to fuse the two together.
What is a director, for people who don’t know?
A director is the person who is creating, leading and uniting the vision of a show and bringing to life a playwright’s story. A director coordinates all elements of production, so they are the ones who are figuring out all of the staging and blocking, which is where all the actors go on stage. They’re handling transitions. They’re thinking about how lighting and sound and costuming and props and acting and the whole flow of the show are coordinated and working together. I refer to directors like the captain of the ship. They’re steering it where it needs to go, solving many crises and challenges along the way and helping the actors get more connected to their roles. They deepen the scenes and help them be more believable in the moment. They unify all elements of production to tell the story.
I know that you have a lot of different jobs. What would you say is your main one?
It depends on the time of the year. I studied directing professionally. When people ask me what I am, I say I’m a theater director. But in addition to that, I do voiceover work. I am a professional voiceover talent, and I’m also the director of education for a voiceover company.
If you want to live as a professional artist, it’s often that you will wear many hats and do many jobs to kind of create that career. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to find a way to have all of my many jobs that I do be in the creative field.
Has there been challenges working with a group of student leaders?
For sure. I think there’s been a learning curve. First of all, there are challenges in any production. I think it was an adjustment to me to figure out how things work at Stern. There’s been traditions of the way things have been done in the past, which I’m learning. We’re also trying to forge new traditions. I think it’s been an adjustment for me to guide students on what their role is and then encourage them to run with it and implement it.
What would you say to students who want to get involved but are scared or hesitant?
College is the very best place to experiment. So just sign up, show up, be there, be in the room where it happens because amazing things can occur. Get invested in something that you never thought you wanted to do. In college, I fell in love with certain subjects by randomly taking a class or having an experience. We welcome anybody and everybody who wants to get involved. If you have the inkling that you’re curious, then show up and you might fall in love with it.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jessica Schechter