My anxiety transformed into peace during my first trip abroad for SUISS. I rested on the plane until a muffled voice startled me awake. Still miles from my destination, the voice stated a passenger was gravely ill and required immediate medical assistance, forcing us to turn back to the United States.
After the plane landed, I groggily moved back to the airport, not expecting to be there for nine hours. Tension arose between the passengers as we realized there was no concrete information regarding our return flight. To distract myself from my personal distress, I began to observe how each passenger responded to the news; many were frightened, a few lashed out at the airport ground crew, and some were unusually calm. During the wait, I interacted with the diverse group around me, listening to their reasons for boarding this flight, including their opinions on the delay. As I was gathering all of this information, it dawned on me. This could be a perfect concept for a play.
Inspired by my delayed trip to SUISS and the passengers I met, I created a comedic ensemble murder-mystery one-act play about a group of passengers on a plane bound for Ireland. One passenger is poisoned, while the remaining passengers try to figure out the culprit before they walk away free. I called it Not My Flight.
My exit exam from college was to write and produce a one-act play. During this process, I learned how to truly listen and guide each of my actors, including inexperienced ones. This was especially useful during bigger scenes, directing each on their movements and choices. I began collaborating with my stage crew and actors on their ideas to make the play more efficient and enjoyable for our audience. We were able to perform six shows, each crowd bigger than the last. I was thrilled to hear great reviews and to receive a standing ovation on our last show. My goal is to have it officially published soon. Looking back, I’m so grateful for the inconvenience on my way to SUISS. Turns out, it was exactly what I needed to graduate.