Joseph-Takeshita debuts senior project, ‘Selfie’
Photo by Quinn Williams
Junior Kailee Kaeo and senior Danann Mitchell are both returning drama club members. They played in senior Aeris Joseph-Takeshita’s senior project production of “Selfie,” Sept. 4.
Aeris Joseph-Takeshita debuted her senior project, a play named Selfie, for a one-night run, Friday, Sept. 4, at Keōpūolani Hale, .
“Last night [Sept. 4] went amazing, they took the show to a whole new level,” the senior said.
Joseph-Takeshita handled all aspects of the production, from casting to staging and the final performance.
Nine members of the Kamehameha Schools Maui Drama Club acted out the play on stage while six other members helped backstage.
Selfie was the first show for freshmen Cullen Mitchell, who played Zack, and Jaimelee Felipe as Morgan.
The show was about a group of high school students going through their senior year facing their own personal problems, but together. In a nutshell, they come to realize that the pictures they take for everyone to see do not amount to the pictures they have of themselves.
“I think it’s a good show, we got it all together pretty quickly,” senior Cole Schafer said. “It’s hard on her [Joseph-Takeshita] because she’s directing her peers, and that’s never easy.”
Joseph-Takeshita agreed that directing her classmates was difficult in the beginning, but “towards the end they really came together.”
Joseph-Takeshita got the idea to do the play from former drama teacher Ms. McGee last school year, and when her first attempt of pitching a senior project idea was denied, she came back to the play she fell in love with.
“I did it because I really, really liked the play, and I really wanted to do it, and I knew if I didn’t do it, nobody would,” Joseph-Takeshita said.
Although the show was short, at 40 minutes, it was packed with comedy, entertainment, and, of course, drama.
“It exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t have asked for a better show and senior project,” Joseph-Takeshita said.
