First-Time Directors Bring Stage Experience

Josh Dowiak and Emily Weitzel are the perfect co-directors for the William Allen Middle School musical.

The duo has been involved in theater since they were both young.

Dowiak, 24, studied music at Temple and Rutgers, receiving a BA in music from Rutgers. He has been a music director with the Moorestown Theater Company and has been a director with the Moorestown Department of Parks and Recreation Summer Theater Program.

Weitzel, 25, who is currently working on her master’s in dance education at Temple, earned a degree in theater from Drew University. She has also worked for the Summer Theater program and Haddonfield Plays and Players and done choreography for the Moorestown Theater Company.

Their work in local theater is what brought them to the attention of WAMS principal Carole Butler.

“We lost our director to the high school,” Butler said. “I reached out to community members who are involved in theater to see if they might have someone.”

It didn’t take long for Dowiak and Weitzel long to apply for the position.

They knew they had the experience. And they were Moorestown grads—Dowiak in 2005 and Weitzel in 2004.

“They convinced me this is their life,” Butler said of her interview with the pair.

The two will be directing about 50 students in Guys and Dolls Jr. The 75-minute shortened version will include classic musical numbers such as “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin' the Boat.” Students auditioned right after Thanksgiving and they have been rehearsing ever since for their Feb. 25 and 26 performances.

It has been a learning experience not only for the kids, but for the directors as well.

For instance, it was Dowiak who had to tell students they were cut from the show.

“That was hard,” he said.

They have also had to worry about all the extra stuff: costumes, set design, talking to parents, working within a budget—not to mention dealing with middle school-age children.

“We’re not teachers, so they think they can get away with more,” said Dowiak. “We’re more laid back, that’s just the way we are. They like to press as hard as they can. But they are all great kids.”

Their youthfulness is a blessing and a curse, said Butler.

“There was a little bit of nervousness. There’s the danger will the kids respect them because of their age,” Butler said. “But nobody has been deterred by these two young people.

“The kids are enthusiastic so I know they’re doing good.”

Dowiak and Weitzel are assisted by Rachael Banford, a special education teacher at the middle school who is doing the choreography, and by Marcia Klock, a veteran of the WAMS play who is the musical director.

This is also Banford’s first year working on the school’s play.

“I’ve danced for a long time,” Banford said. “But I’ve never choreographed.”

The hardest part for her has been teaching kids unfamiliar with dancing how to dance.

“It’s exciting to see it all come together,” she said.

The success of the play is everyone’s ultimate goal. None more so than Butler, who wants to see the middle school theater program grow.

“My goal is to sell out the middle school shows,” Butler said. “We need to support this program the same way we support our music program and our athletic program.”

Guys and Dolls Jr. will be performed at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 25 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 26 in the WAMS auditorium. Tickets are $8 per person and can be purchased in the school lobby beginning Feb. 14.