For SUNY Oswego senior theatre major Ian Katz, directing the Theatre Department’s production of “The Grown Ups” culminates years of hard work in a program that allows students to experience many different avenues. 

“The Grown Ups” follows a group of young adult counselors around a campfire as they tackle challenges they face in their lives. The show will play in Tyler Hall’s intimate Lab Theatre from Nov. 12 to 17. 

Katz has been president of both BlackFriars, Oswego’s drama club, and Alpha Psi Omega, the Honorary National Theatre Society, which he credits his success to becoming the director for “The Grown Ups.” 

Successfully applying for the coveted student director role involves “establishing yourself as a student leader, someone the faculty can depend on, someone who is very focused on their craft,” Katz said. “It's important to, of course, do the application process, but it's also important in those three years to become a student leader.” 

Katz wanted to experience “all aspects of theatre” in college which landed him at SUNY Oswego for its program. At Oswego, Katz has been able to act, be part of multiple crews and productions as well as produce the BlackFriars’ play last spring semester. 

Theatre is like one big puzzle, Katz said: “It’s a whole process, but seeing the picture become clear from the pieces is a very gratifying experience, especially because it's a process that we all put so much time and effort into.”

Learning from a mentor

Steven Mazzoccone, who teaches acting and directing classes, is Katz’s mentor throughout this project and has provided a lot of freedom. “[Mazzoccone] will come to a rehearsal, one to two times a week, sit down, watch what we're doing for a certain amount of time and then leave,” Katz said. “Then [Mazzoccone] will give me notes afterwards about what I'm doing and how the show looks and what we're doing well and what we can be doing better.”

Ladeycha Johnson, playing Cassie, said that the environment Katz has created is professional but open. “I feel like it's easier not to feel we're screwing up all the time or we're making mistakes because [Katz]  is a student and has also acted so he knows how the process is for the actors,” Johnson said. “So he’s very reassuring and makes sure he is letting us know we're doing a good job and that we're actually on track for what the process is.”

Katz is a very hands-on director and wants his actors to really understand their roles. During the first week of table readings, Katz asked the cast to think about what their characters were thinking line by line, said Emma Marshall, who is playing Becca. 

“In rehearsals, we’ve been doing camp songs every day to warm up,” Zuzu Evans, playing Aidan, said. “And that has been very fun.”

Katz said that this process has been very gratifying and a moment that is extremely special.

“We are taking the culmination of three to four years of work and applying it to this one big production that we get to call our own,” Katz said. “This is an opportunity that I have looked forward to for the past three or four years, since I got here and heard that a student could direct the fall production. That is a goal that I have been wanting to achieve.”

The show will have 7:30 p.m. curtains from Nov. 12 to 16, with matinee shows at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16 and 17.

Tickets are available via SUNY Oswego Box Office and are free to students, and $10 for general admission. 

-- Written by Natalie Glosek of the Class of 2026