Have you ever thought you had the worst breakup ever? Maybe you were dumped on your birthday or the week before prom or over text. No matter what your worst breakup story is, the Thespian Troupe 1534 topped it in their most recent play, “The 12 Worst Breakups of All Time.”

The Thespians performed their annual student-directed production last Friday. This show was directed by three seniors: Claudia Vazquez, Ben Musec, and Ali Meehan.

“Mrs. Motley likes to give everyone a fair chance, so we all pitched ideas on how to direct either one show together or multiple shows separately,” Musec said. “After months of thinking, we all eventually decided to direct together.”

The directors settled on the play “The 12 Worst Breakups of All Time” because of its comedic factor and the flexibility it offered for having three directors. The cast acted out 12 breakups from time periods as far back as the Stone Age.

“We were able to divide the 12 scenes so we could all direct four,” Vazquez said. “Towards the end of the process though, everything was pretty much under everyone’s direction.”

Because the Thespian Show is directed by students, the atmosphere at rehearsals differs greatly from Drama Club production rehearsals.

“It was hard being a director of my own peers,” Musec said. “Because I know all of the cast, there’s a certain aspect of friendship among (everyone), so sometimes we’d get off track.”

Vazquez also noticed a lack of attentiveness from the cast prior to the performances.

“Being the same age as most of them makes it sort of hard to get complete respect because nobody wants to take direction from their peers,” she said.

The Thespian Show also differs from Drama Club productions because of the amount of preparation the cast is allowed. The Thespian Show has four weeks of rehearsals while the Drama Club rehearses for two to three months, Meehan said.

Even though the cast had minimal time to prepare for the show, students were impressed by the performance. Senior Camille Taylor believes this show was the “best one yet.”

“It was lighter, easier to follow and had much less going on than in years past,” she said.

As directors, Vazquez and Meehan remained backstage during the show. Musec, however, made a few appearances on stage because of the small number of boys available for the different roles.

Musec and Meehan’s loyalties still lie in acting, but Vazquez found a passion for directing.

“I absolutely loved every bit of it. I got to interpret the script how I wanted to and got to make the picture of the words from the page come to life. As an actress, I perform someone else’s vision… and it was cool to be on the other side of that,” she said.

Along with putting on a great show, the directors’ wanted to raise money for a school in Louisiana that was impacted by the recent floods. They asked students and teachers to donate money to the fundraiser before each show.  By the end of the day, they collected $875, Vazquez said.

“I donated, and I hope everyone else did too,” Taylor said. “It was a very good cause, and I like looking for opportunities to donate to those in need.”

Vazquez, Musec, and Meehan were able to put on a show they were pleased with while also raising money for a struggling school.

“The performances were everything I hoped for and more. The cast really had a fun time, and they put something different into each show. The crew made the lighting and sound absolutely perfect as well,” Meehan said. “I really feel like a proud parent after this week.”