The Rocket Man, inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story. Directed and written by Senior Dylan Malloy a student at Ralston Valley has taken us through the experience of what it is like to be a highschool student and line up a whole play by herself. 

Senior Malloy writing the script herself not only has made a unique environment, and a sense of community is portrayed as junior Miguel Catilo said “the play being written by a student changes the rehearsal atmosphere a decent amount. This is due to the fact that we’re all friends so the setting seems a lot more casual than normal productions.” But this does not mean the play is just fun in games as it provides an opportunity for strict business as Castilo also says, “Though we’re all mutuals, we still treat each other with respect so the environment is very encouraging which is something that really boosts the energy in the rehearsal space.” The comfortable environment that the cast has created and the script has allowed for has made Miguel feel “the safe environment than produced by an adult.” 

Rocket Man has provided the true meaning of what it means to not only act out the scene but really put it into your own hands. Senior, Olivia Cassara says “The one thing that this play has taught me is how theatre as an art form can be used to convey a message. I think some people think of plays as just like entertainment, but this show has taught me the importance of storytelling.” Cassara is also able to take some life lessons away from the play by portraying her character as she says “In Rocket Man I play the mother, Lilly, and I’ve played the wife role in the past like in 2019 “More than Meets the Eye ”. What is unique about the mother this time is that has to be protective over her son. Obviously, I am not a mother myself so it’s been a challenge to see the character from a parent’s point of view, and I hope to do it justice.“ 

Malloy herself has conveyed to us that this is not her first rodeo. She is very experienced in the writing form that comes along with writing a play as she says “I have always been a writer; my background is in fiction writing, and I have been working on a novel writing for a few years. For the entirety of my high school career, I have been working backstage as a customer or assistant director.” The steps to writing a play isn’t just paper to pen Malloy says “We test many different rewrites to see what feels most authentic for the actor–for ¨The Rocket Man,¨ we tried four different versions of the final page of the show before settling on the option we have now!” Malloy’s story writing skills previous to the play isn’t the same as a real life play as the characters have more “vibrant energy,” rather than lines on a paper. Malloy says that there “friendship” has drove the characters to come “more alive” and far from a normal play as she said “The Ray Bradbury short story ¨The Rocket Man¨ is so beautifully written: the characters are so real, and though there isn’t much dialogue, the emotion feels very immediate and authentic. The story is so simple, yet so moving.” For Malloy this isn’t just a school play for her as she Communicated “I intend to major in creative writing in college, which would give me the education necessary to write plays for a living.” Which leads her to get into the business of  “professional playwright and novelist, as well as continuing to direct.” This play airs on March 4th as Malloy gets to see her once idea put into action expressed through her inspired Ray Bradbury story.