Three Rooms, Three Visions: The Creative Minds Behind Bedroom Farce

This year’s Upper School fall production, Bedroom Farce, took on an unusual challenge: Instead of a single director shaping the world of the play, three faculty members each helmed one of the show’s three bedrooms. Though the play unfolded in a continuous storyline, the shifts between bedrooms depended on the creative choices of each director. The distinct visions of directors Nick Rose (arts department chair and theater director), David Mavricos (physics teacher), and Andy Ahrens (teaching fellow), coexisted on one stage to form a witty, fast-paced comedy.

When asked what initially drew him to directing his particular set, Ahrens explained that the choice grew out of a desire to challenge himself. “I picked the bedroom I did because it had a lot of physical comedy challenges. And while I may not always be the best at physical comedy, I wanted to take that on.”

Before the full set was built, actors ran scenes in an open rehearsal room where bedroom boundaries didn’t actually exist. For a play that relies heavily on timing, overlapping movement, and the illusion that all three bedrooms exist simultaneously, creating a “suspension of disbelief” without physical walls was a challenge. “For much of the rehearsal process, we worked each bedroom in isolation; when we came together, it was exciting to see how each director and set of actors had interpreted the play and how the production had organically melded into one cohesive story,” says Mavricos. “The actors did a really great job bringing the three different rooms to life, both individually and as a whole.”

The structure of Bedroom Farce meant that each director’s section had to connect seamlessly with the others while maintaining its own personality. The transitions between bedrooms offered comedic beats and new energy each time the rooms and scenes changed. “I love how surprisingly specific everything had to be in this show,” says Rose. “The humor depended on specific actions and timing. And the actors and technical crew really impressed me with how they made it look easy.”