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Less than a week remains until “Make Believe” hits the stage at the Viking Theater, and the production crew and cast are working hard to ensure that the upcoming show is a success. Dedication and collaboration within their group, they have found, have been key to their success.

According to student director Zoey Waddell, a senior at Grand View, the cast and crew have been meeting nearly every night, working tirelessly to prepare for the performance. Within her own life these past couple months, Waddell said, the play has taken precedence, even over school.

“So far, everything has come together better than I could ever imagine,” Waddell said last Wednesday. “At this point I’m not stressed, but if you ask me next week around this time, it’ll probably be a different answer.”

Only one student is selected every two years to direct a play. According to Waddell, when she learned of the procedure she would have to go through to earn this position, she knew it was what she wanted to do. “I’ve always been more interested in the creative process of theater than I ever have been the acting process,” she said. Waddell is currently majoring in both theater and secondary education and is balancing an 18-credit hour semester on top of her involvement in theater.

“I think she’s handling it fairly well,” senior Ryan Scott, who portrays the character Marcus, said. “[She’s] also got a job on top of this… I used to do the whole work and school-load thing, and it does not turn out well—or it didn’t for me anyway. But I think Zoey is actually handling that fairly well.”

Claudia Sloat (So.), who portrays the character Natasha, said that having a student director who is more on her level helped her personally to develop as an actress by allowing her more freedom. “Instead of telling us where to go or what to do,” Sloat said, “she says, ‘what do you feel your character would do in this situation?’”

“Make Believe” is the story Waddell chose to direct this spring. According to Waddell, she had read between 20 and 30 plays before finding the one she connected to. “Make Believe” follows the family of a young girl named Lena, who had disappeared a few years prior to the show. A particularly important character in the show is Natasha, the sister of the missing Lena. What drew Waddell to this particular play, she said, was the connection she herself has with her own sisters.

“The play has changed the way that I kind of look at family and connections and loss,” Waddell said. “It’s a really great way to see the realistic way that people deal with things that are out of their control.”

Lexi Morrow (Sr.), the stage manager, said that the play is not, in her words, “candy-coated.” The trials that the family goes through, she said, are believable, and unlike many other plays, the ways the family members respond to these trials are genuine.

“We’re trying not to give the whole plot away and tell you about it,” Morrow said.

“You can find out what happens if you come to the show,” Sloat said with a smile.

Waddell, Scott, Sloat, and Morrow each expressed their excitement for this upcoming weekend and are hoping for a big crowd.

“Make Believe” takes to the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 3 through March 5 at the Viking Theater and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 6. Tickets are free for Grand View students, faculty, and staff.