By: Anaya Miller
Anaya Parker sat back in her chair as she supervised the evening rehearsal. The cast members in attendance ran through their lines with almost perfect accuracy as Parker, the playwright, occasionally called out prompts.
For the past few months, Parker, a senior religious studies major, has been writing and directing a play about belonging and the power of stories. “Building Paper Castles” will debut on Feb. 27, with a second showing on March 1.
Written by Parker and co-directed by Ava-Caroline Schmidt, a sophomore digital communication and media major, the play will be performed by students in the Southern Stage drama club, as well as one alum. According to Parker, the club was started as a result of last year’s play, “Breaking Tides.”
“I had always wanted to start a drama club, but I never had other people to do it alongside me,” Parker said. “This was the opportunity that I had to get that group together and to make it happen. Almost everyone on our officer list is from the last play.”
After last year’s production of Parker’s “Breaking Tides,” the topic of recreating classic books came up, giving her the idea to combine some stories into one. The idea was to have a character explore her world by imagining herself into these well-loved stories.
According to Parker, the play is about Kira, a foster girl, who explores her identity and faith through reading stories.
“The story of Kira is about finding belonging,” she said, “and she seeks to do that through reading books but eventually finds that her story is just as valuable as the ones she’s reading in her books.”
Parker started writing “Building Paper Castles” over the summer of 2025. According to her, the Southern Stage’s first goal as a club was to get another play out. They promoted their club and the play at Southern’s Organizational Showcase in hopes of finding students who were interested in performing. Auditions started in the first month of school. A small struggle Parker first ran into was the modifications that had to be made to the play due to a rule regarding dancing.
“Southern only allows cultural clubs to do dancing,” Parker said. “We had wanted to have some swing dance, but unfortunately they said we could not do that.”
Parker mentioned that another major change to the play happened when the student playing the main lead dropped out. Parker expressed her thankfulness that Melea Hwang, a sophomore communication major, stepped into the role.
Hwang first heard about Parker and Schmidt while visiting during Smart Start. When she saw them at the Organizational Showcase, she signed up to join “Building Paper Castles” and auditioned for a small role. The week before Thanksgiving break, Parker reached out and asked Hwang if she would accept the lead role and play Kira.
“After about a week of thinking and praying, I said ‘yes,’” Hwang said. “I had a few less months to kind of learn the show and the lines, but I locked in over Christmas break, and here we are.”
Hwang had to adjust her evening schedule to balance this new responsibility, but she enjoys the time she gets to rehearse with new friends and has loved the story since the beginning.
“I was just so amazed by the writing, and I thought it all so clever, and so clean and so well put-together,” she said. “I really believe in the story that it has to tell, and I believe in the message that it has to bring. I think it’s so valuable and so necessary, and I’m just really honored to be a part of it and portraying this to our audience because it’s really powerful. I tell people that if I can make the audience feel as strongly in the tender moments at the end as I can the intense moments in the middle, then I will have done what I came here to do.”
Otis Bodie, a sophomore construction major, first played a role in Parker’s “Breaking Tides.” When Parker pitched the idea for starting the Southern Stage, Bodie was happy to get the opportunity to help run the club as an officer. He is also playing a main role in “Building Paper Castles” as Scott, Kira’s foster brother.
“This is actually the first time I’ve been given a main character,” Bodie said. “I kind of had a main character when I did a production at camp, but this is actually presented to people [who are] buying tickets to see the show. It’s really, really exciting and really, really nerve-wracking, but I’m super stoked to have this opportunity.”
Bodie enjoys multitasking and sees the play as a fun activity he can add to his school life. His favorite thing about producing the play is the laughter he and his castmates share – laughter he hopes the audience will also experience.
“It’s fun because these guys are basically my best friends,” he said. “I really enjoy hanging out here; it feels like my little safe zone away from home. The play is super funny and super endearing at the same time, and I really like the emotion that we’re developing that everyone else is also going to feel: the same way I first felt when I read the script.”
Jeanyvah Desarmes, a senior religious studies major, is also on the team. She performed in “Breaking Tides” and will help with “Building Paper Castles” from backstage. Her favorite thing about this play is how it brings different kinds of students together.
“I’m actually really surprised by the [representation] of the different parts of campus,” she said. “We have really introverted people and really extroverted people and it’s nice to see, not the clash, but the merging of the two. We have fine arts majors, we have film majors, biology, chemistry. I’m excited and looking forward to presenting this play with my fellow comrades at Southern.”
Parker expressed her thanks to those who are helping make the production possible. In addition to Schmidt as co-director, Parker has been assisted by Maddy Brower, a sophomore communication major, and Angelina Maphis, a junior computer science major. Lynn Wood Hall has allowed the Southern Stage to use their chapel, and Southern’s Audio-Visual team will run the tech booth. Outside organizations are also helping the club.
“I’m super grateful for … Ripple Productions giving us the costumes, and Jesse Rademacher for being our sponsor,” Parker said. “There’s been a lot of moving parts, and I’m just very grateful for everyone that is helping us make this a reality.”
Parker sees the Southern Stage as a blessing and an avenue to teach through drama.
“I believe drama is such an amazing influence and can be used for so much good,” she said. “I think sometimes [it] gets a bad rap in Adventism, but even Jesus told parables. Stories are the most powerful things that we can use to illustrate points and messages. Jesus did that, so why shouldn’t we also use stories to tell people the important messages about [Him] and what He offers us?”
For more information about “Building Paper Castles”, visit the Southern Stage’s Instagram page: thesouthernstage.
