Drama advisor Jacqueline MacKusick has taken all of her previous experience in theater to successfully direct the musical “Little Shop of Horrors”.

“‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is one of my all time favorite shows,” MacKusick said. “Last time I co-directed it and the time before that I was in it.” 

Her involvement in theater began from a very young age and her love for the Arts grew after being a part of “Beauty Lou and the Country Beast”.

MacKusick was able to continue with her passion after graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater. Once she branched out to find a teaching position, she was originally placed as an English teacher. She inevitably found a position in the drama department and has been dedicated to it since. She specifically has interest in tech theater. 

Throughout her years of being a teacher,  she’s directed and co-directed various plays and musicals. 

“I’ve probably directed two-dozen over the last 20 years or so,” MacKusick said. 

At the school she taught at previously, MacKusick was able to direct the musical “Hairspray.”  She directed that independently for the most part, but still received help from others in the drama department. Once she switched schools, it led her to having the opportunity to put on a show completely on her own. 

MacKusick began teaching at Oakmont during the middle of the pandemic. As a result of that, material had to be taught over Zoom. That made serious effects on how both classes and extracurriculars would be taught, as theater is very interactive and involves working as a whole. 

Once the majority of students were back on campus, it gave theater the chance to put on a show again. From that point on, MacKusick decided to take on the responsibility of directing a musical. 

“[Once Upon a] Mattress last year was my first completely on-my-own musical,” MacKusick said. 

After successfully putting on that show, it opened the doors to being able to put on several more. Herself and the student body now have the confidence of putting on future productions.  

For the fall musical, MacKusick took a show that is special in her heart, and put it to the test.

“It’s an amazing play,” MacKusick said. “[Ultimately] it’s an alien plant from outer space that is coming to take over the world.” 

While the whole process of putting on a show can be highly entertaining and extremely fun, there’s a significant amount of work that goes into it.

“You see a show and you look at the program,” MacKusick said. “There’s going to be…20 different people who have names for directing and designing… and pretty much all of those are my job.”

It absolutely is a lot of pressure taking on all of these roles, but MacKusick said she’s “…definitely trying to expand to where the students are taking on more responsibilities.” 

Auditions for “Little Shop” began during the second week of school and opening night is Oct. 27, meaning the talented group of students collectively had about two months to prepare which is “…pretty tight for a musical.” MacKusick said. 

During all of that preparation and rehearsal time, something that’s been crucial to MacKusick is having everything stable and well thought out. 

“I try really hard when I’m… directing in particular to really balance all the needs of everything,” MacKusick said.

Though it seems that in the end it all comes down to the performance, the growth of students and seeing their creative development during the process is extremely meaningful. 

“My favorite part of directing almost every show is watching the cast… discover all the fun things that are in there and really taking on those characters and bring them to life,” MacKusick said. “It’s such a rewarding experience.”