By: Derek Hottenstein
Honors students are known for taking on many things. We are in athletics, music groups, we present at academic conferences, and the list goes on. A handful of us are also quite involved in theater. This semester, some of our theatrical endeavors have led us to Snail Wail, a short play. It was written, directed by, and starring Natalie Elfner (‘25), who created it for her Senior Capstone through SNC Theatrical Studies. She was mentored by theater professors Dr. Stephen Rupsch and April Beiswenger. To help her bring the project to life, she enlisted the help of actors, including Honors students Kaitlyn Watson (‘28), Tyler Blom (‘26), Joseph Kositzky (‘26), Dominick Azzolina (‘28), and me, Derek Hottenstein (‘28).
It’s quite a feat to create a brand-new play from scratch. The process to start took no small amount of effort. Natalie said that she experienced “a deep love-hate relationship as [she] was developing it. [She] struggled to figure out what exactly [she] wanted to happen and how [the] main characters would navigate through the story.” In spite of the difficulty, she received some helpful outside perspective, and the world of Snail Wail began to come together. Writing, directing, and acting in the show have gifted her a newfound perspective on what theater offers, Natalie said. As a first-time theater director, she had this to say on the process: “I’m sure you have a song or a TV show or a movie that you wish you could experience for the first time again, and that’s what directing Snail Wail has felt like. I get to experience theatre for the first time again because I’m approaching it in a brand new way. Taking on this role has been so invigorating and so rewarding.”
It was no less rewarding for the rest of the cast either. Tyler, who played the wise, mysterious Snail Wizard known as Silas, claimed that the best part of being in the show was “getting to play such a dynamic character that dramatically changes halfway through.” Dominick, who has the role of a henchman alongside me, reports that his favorite parts were “all the new friends and all the dumb jokes.” Kaitlyn, who played the heroine Felicity, said that the best aspect of her involvement was the opportunity of “being in a play for the first time. Before this, I’d only ever done musicals.” I would say that the best part of the whole thing was being able to play a character that I could just have fun with. It’s not very often that I get the chance to sword fight and be thrown all around the stage, so I made the most of it.
From our first rehearsal to our last, it has been quite a ride. This experience with the theater program and Natalie was a nice opportunity to unwind, have some fun, and flex our creative muscles to make something together. We all accomplished something on that stage. At the end of the day, that’s what the Honors Program is all about: accomplishing great things together and making amazing memories along the way.
