Eighth grade directors debut in ‘The Clearing and the Crossroads’
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Friday Harbor Middle School Drama presents “The Clearing and the Crossroads” at the San Juan Community Theatre on Thursday, March 19, through Sunday, March 22. Drama coach Lindsey Saarie is directing this thoughtfully witty collection of vignettes alongside her eighth grade student directors, while many younger students make their debut to the stage itself.
“It is incredibly rewarding to watch these students grow over the years and see their commitment to theater evolve through school productions, community theatre projects and our Thespian Troupe,” Saarie shared with the Journal. “Seeing the eighth graders step into these leadership roles has been a wonderful experience for the younger sixth and seventh-grade students. I already knew these older students were natural leaders, but giving them the authority to direct has taken their confidence to a whole new level.”
Liam DeYoung, Owen Wight, Hazel Wight, Nolan Wall and Avaline Anderson are each participating as directors in some vignettes and actors in others, with Saarie gently scaffolding the way. She remembers a moment working with DeYoung on the “Runaways” scenes, where she was able to find the balance between guiding and giving him the space he needed. “By asking the actors what would personally motivate them to stop and turn around during their journey, we opened up a whole new world of blocking and physicality that Liam could now build upon.”
Directing has turned out to be a bit more difficult than the students originally anticipated, but with Saarie’s support, they’ve been able to step up to the challenge.
“I expected to have a bunch of ideas, because when I’m acting, I always have so many things I want to try. But then I realized I had to build the scene from the ground up!” Anderson laughed. “It’s definitely hard, but so is acting. This is our first time! And practice makes better.”
Anderson’s confidence on stage is palpable, and the eyes of the younger actors follow everywhere she goes. For some, it’s their first time performing at the theater.
Sixth grader Ben Klein joined because he wanted to get over his fear of being in front of people. “Now, I’m feeling really excited! You can move around so freely here.” Klein spoke of his gratitude for his friend Willy, who has helped to support him. When asked if Willy is a reason he doesn’t feel afraid anymore, Klein shook his head and corrected, “I’m taking my own fear away by being here.”
The younger group of students followed director Saarie backstage for a tour, hearing words like “green room” for the first time and learning about the fly loft and stage elements. A familiar face tagged along in the back, one who had just announced one hour earlier her resignation from the director of education position at the San Juan Community Theatre.
Penelope Haskew trailed behind the tour, witnessing the wonder of a group of children’s first glimpse behind the scenes for one of the last times in her 16-year service with the theater. “I love the transition from their first time looking around to knowing all they need to do, so confident, creating the show,” she smiled.
Leven Bouwman skipped the tour, a veteran due to community plays, although a newbie when it comes to performing with the middle school crew. “Everyone is my same age! So that’s different,” she chuckled. “Something I love about this show is that we all have the same amount of importance. There are no leads, no ensemble. We are all telling the story together.”
“The Clearing” and “The Crossroads” are two plays written by Jennifer Reif, each comprised of multiple vignettes that weave together to tell an overall story. The stage is set with conifers and stumps, stones and logs. At one point, a feather drops from the sky — at another, the student actors build a cairn with the stones. It’s a simple set that comes alive with the teenagers’ interactions.
In the director’s note in the program, Saarie describes the woods as “a place that serves as both a physical setting and a mirror for the internal landscapes our students navigate every day.” Each vignette represents a moment, she says, some heavy, some nerve-wracking, some confusing, and others “lightened by the sudden, spontaneous joy that only middle schoolers can find in the midst of a walk.”
Saarie says she chose this show “because it speaks directly to the lived experiences of our cast, offering them a safe space to explore the feeling of being alone while realizing they are actually walking these paths together.”
