Back in late 2025, around the Paoli Drama Club’s “Mean Girls” performance, eighth grader Sagan Miller had just bought the game “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney,” which is a game based on the visual novel of the same name about court cases. This inspired Miller to write his own comedic play about a court case. This spring, Miller, with the help of a few drama students, has made his play a reality.
“I wanted to make a play out of it because I enjoy performing, and it would be a good way to get people to see it. It was planned to be a play since I came up with the idea. In fact, the script was actually written with the intent that it would be performed live rather than recorded,” said Miller.
Miller is a member of the Drama Club and has had roles this year in both “Mean Girls” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” This semester, during rehearsals for “Singin’ in the Rain,” Miller shared the script with Director Maria Wishart, and they began work together on the show. The two talked to the cast and found actors willing to be part of making his play.
“I am excited to foster student creativity and the initiative it takes to put together a production. I am also excited about the skills everyone is learning about performing on film and about editing. There are significant differences between film and live productions on stage,” said Wishart.
The small cast met, read the script, decided on casting, and then read through with those actors portraying those characters. They also made a list of props and costume needs. The cast includes Miller, sophomore Emily Lindsey, freshman James Lindsey, eighth graders Raven Cross and Leslie Stockton, and seventh graders Sylvia Bender and Eleanor Bender.
Since the play is being recorded and not performed on stage, Miller has learned a lot about the technology as his play utilizes a green screen.
“I have learned that (when recording) cameras need to stay completely still when using a green screen, otherwise it just looks like the people are sliding around,” said Miller.
The cast is working on recording and producing the play for the Drama Club’s YouTube channel.