The curtains part and the play begins, but senior Blake Valentine is missing from the stage. Though he was once a regular presence in the Noblesville High School auditorium, the role Valentine now takes resides behind the scenes.
After acting in more than 20 shows, ranging from the NHS theatre program to “Stone Soup Children’s Musical Theater,” Valentine is no stranger to the stage. Thanks to his experience, his history of acting has provided a stepping stone into a new chapter. This year, Valentine will be taking on the position of student director.
“It’s fun to create an entire show because normally when you’re acting, you’re only in parts. While directing, you get to help create the entire thing,” Valentine said.
Valentine has been an actor starting at a very young age, but his passion erupted at “Stone Soup Children’s Musical Theater,” one of Noblesville’s nonprofit performing arts organizations. He believes that this theater helped spark his interest in the arts.
“I still do act, but I was part of this theatre company, ‘Stone Soup,’ and that’s where I started doing shows. Then, after I aged out, I wanted to come back,” Valentine said.
After performing on stage for years, Valentine decided to contribute in a different way. He made his student directing debut last summer in the Stone Soup production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Following this production’s success, he advanced to the position of co-director in “Grease” this past summer.
“I started coming back and choreographing, and I kind of found that I don’t think my area of interest is in backstage crew. The next year for ‘Wizard of Oz,’ I asked to student direct. I found that was where I worked the best,” Valentine said. “After ‘Wizard of Oz,’ I ended up getting promoted, and then I was co-director of ‘Grease’ the next year.”
Valentine’s acting background serves as the foundation of his newfound directing skills. Senior and NHS fall musical student director Kenzie Wood has worked with him both on and off stage at NHS. She believes that this foundation helps him when working behind the scenes.
“Because he was an actor first, he knows what other actors are thinking,” Wood said. “He can relate to everything going on and that can be very helpful.”
Valentine has a bigger goal for this year. He aims to create new opportunities for aspiring student directors right here at NHS: a night of one-act plays, directed by students themselves. His inspiration for this performance comes from NHS Technical Theatre teacher and assistant play director, Connor Buhl.
“I went to Buhl, and I was like, ‘I know you love directing, I know you love helping students. Would you help with this?’” Valentine said. “And he said he’d be willing to. He’s helped me a lot with directing.”
Buhl has been a director of many NHS productions, while also performing outside of school. His history of participating in one-acts, dating back to his own high school years, has influenced his point of view when introducing the idea to NHS.
“I am very much an advocate for the one-act nights because that’s actually how I got my start in theatre,” Buhl said. “I was a junior in high school. I always tell people it’s never too late to start something you’re interested in.”
These one-act nights not only serve as an opportunity for students to get out there and have their work be seen, but Buhl states that these nights are also an inclusive evening for those that wish to participate. The positions for student directors are limited, but Valentine believes that this event gives more students a chance to be part of this experience.
“I think there aren’t a huge amount of student directors. There are some, but they don’t get a complete say in what we do,” Valentine said. “I think it’d be nice to have, like, a leadership… that’s the main reason I wanted to do [the one-act idea].”
While Valentine has many plans for his high school theatre career, his goals extend far beyond the walls of NHS. Valentine hopes to pursue the performing arts in college and eventually use these skills in his future career.
“I love acting and directing. I think I’m going to do both in college and see where I go from there,” Valentine said. “I don’t know exactly which one I want to pursue more, but I know that it is possible to do both. I know many directors who still act.”
The close connections to his audiences are one of many aspects of Valentine that has been admired by others. Buhl notes that these things do not go unnoticed and truly makes Valentine all the more special in his eyes.
“The way I would describe Blake,” Buhl said, “the mold broke after they made him.”
Directing has brought Valentine into a whole new world of theatre, ultimately unlocking his hidden passion for storytelling and creative leadership. However, Valentine finds his true joy for directing through the audience’s emotional reactions.
“I just love making audiences laugh and feel things. And it’s a way for me to express emotions that I wouldn’t get to express. [I get to] explore different parts of humanity,” Valentine said.
