Melina Sigerson, playwright of “That Saturday,” has had a long journey on the road of theater productions. From the start, Sigerson performed in all the middle school musicals up until high school where she found that she preferred keeping her musical-self and theater-self separate. During her freshman year she participated in “Win For Life,” written by Quincy Confoy, for the Fall Studio, and “Mr. Marmalade” in the Winter Studio. As sophmore year approached, Milena began the process of writing “That Saturday,” taking a break from the spotlight.
Milena’s sister and dad have always been involved in theater. “I started with theater as early as I could,” she said, “grabbing any opportunities I could get.” Milena was in her first show at the young age of 7. Since then, theater has impacted her greatly, offering her new opportunities, new ways to expand upon her ideas, and the privilege of meeting supportive and inspirational friends along the way. Sigerson believes that the most important part of writing a play is “falling in love with your own idea,” and to persevere and continue to write the whole thing despite what others will say or think.
“You need to be convinced of the importance of the play’s message,” she says “and believe that by putting your play out there, it will offer help to those who need it.”
Sigerson has written a lovely piece, though her journey on the road to “That Saturday” was not easy. Sigerson explains, “this was the first real piece of theater I’ve ever written, so I hadn’t done a lot of brainstorming prior to that.” “That Saturday” made Sigerson dig deeper within herself, and what was supposed to be a simple play about something near and dear to her, ended up being darker and more complex than she had expected. For Milena, this was a way to share her inner thoughts and ideas with the people around her, and to express the struggles and emotions that teenage girls face.
After finishing “That Saturday,” Sigerson still believes that there are things that she could have done better. “I fear people will think this is exactly what adolescence is like for me, or for all people, and I don’t think it does that justice at all,” she expressed. Even still, her finished product speaks for itself, displaying what a true theater lover believes is important in writing a play.
“Theater will always be a huge part of my life,” Milena exclaimed. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
