For the first time under theater teacher Christian Penuelas’ guidance, a student has been tapped to direct tonight’s debut of the spring play, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice.

Senior Caleb Van Hook, who played the title role in the March 6-15 musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, said he agreed earlier this year to take on directing duties for the first time in a full production.

“Since I’m going to college for theater, and I’m going to be doing a lot of acting, I was excited to have one directorial thing to try something a little newer before I left,” said Van Hook, who has committed to attending Abilene Christian University in Texas this fall as a musical theater major. “I’m helping to figure out the staging and also kind of meeting with some of the production groups, like costume and lighting, and my job is to ‘OK’ what they have.”

Van Hook said he gave the OK to the email he had received in December from Penuelas, offering him this directorial task. 

“I thought it’d be a really good opportunity to kind of extend some learning opportunities for students here, and I felt like Caleb was a student who could benefit from that extension,” the theater teacher said. “I don’t know that I will always have a student direct, but in some special cases, I felt like this was a good move for him, and he seemed very passionate about the play.”

Van Hook said although he was excited when he read Penuelas’ email, he decided to spend some time on whether to accept the opportunity. 

“It took me a while to decide if I wanted to direct because I really wanted to act in it as well,” the senior said. Later, he added, “I’m really excited just to get to sit in the audience and see how the audience reacts to it and what they like and things that they draw from it and kind of get that view.”

Taking the same title as the British novel that was first published in 1813, the theatrical work is written by Kate Hamill and purchased for use from Dramatists Play Service, a licensing and publishing agency, Penuelas said.

And though this is not a modern work, the theater teacher said it should still hold some appeal for students, staff and community members to come and watch.

“This is a classic piece of literature that’s been adapted many times in TV shows and movies. So it’s a tale that’s stood the test of time again and again,” Penuelas said. “But this particular adaptation is relatively new. So even though the book is very old, this adaptation is only about 10 years old. … Even though it’s a period piece, the play itself is a new text, so it’s written for a younger audience in mind and for a more modern audience.”

Similar to the novel, the play centers on the romantic entanglements of two main characters, Elizabeth Bennet (played by sophomore Leah Nyberg) and Fitzwilliam Darcy (usually referred to as Mr. Darcy), played by junior Tate Garcia. At first, Bennet does not like Darcy — becoming prejudiced toward him — and in turn, the male lead finds Bennet unattractive and of a lower social class, which explains the “pride” part of the title.

Van Hook and Penuelas said they worked together to decide on an 18-person cast after period four auditions on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the PAC. They then came up with two teams so that each group gets to perform at least twice; 13 students get to perform in all four shows, but within each group, five students only perform in two shows.

Cast A, for example, will perform tonight at 7 and Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. Meanwhile, Cast B is scheduled to stage the play Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 3, at 7 p.m.

“We were just looking for somebody who’s committed to the process, committed to the character and the storytelling,” Penuelas said.

Garcia, who has experience in theater since he was in third grade, said Darcy was the role he originally auditioned for.

“I was really excited because I’ve never been part of a student-led play,” he said. “It’s a really fun experience, and I’m hoping to do something like this again next year.”

Nyberg, who also has participated in past theatrical performances since she was 7, said getting to play one of the lead characters will help her expand her acting range.

“I’ve always wanted a role like this one because I’ve always played more silly roles in the past,” the sophomore said. “I think I finally get to show people my acting abilities, so I’m super excited.”

And although the play will take place the weekend before Advanced Placement testing season begins next week, students can consider taking a break from their studies to check out what the school’s theater students have to offer.

“Theater is pretty magical when it’s on stage. It’s a very fun thing,” Penuelas said. “I enjoy all the hard work [that’s put into it].”

On sale at https://www.shhstheater.com/, a ticket for “Pride and Prejudice” costs $17.30 for general admission or $14.18 for students who have a Gold Card or are in the Conservatory of Fine Arts (pricing excludes online payment service fee of $2.18).