Esme Hutchinson-Reuss, City High

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As a City High senior, Esme Hutchinson-Reuss is the lead in one fall play and the villain in another. As a freshman, however, her plan wasn’t even to be an actor. 

In her first week of high school, Hutchinson-Reuss heard an announcement about theatre auditions. She decided to try out for the production crew, where she could lean on her artistic background.

“The arts are what bring me life,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “I always liked to sing, dance, and act, but as a freshman, I only really saw myself as a member of the art design crew.”

Yet on the day of auditions, something changed. 

“I got to the stage and I was just sort of hyperventilating and freaking out,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “I don’t know why, but for some reason I decided to try out.”

She earned a supporting role, and her experiences that fall opened a new world of creative possibilities. Hutchinson-Reuss says she knew after her first performance that she would audition for every show going forward. 

“I still remember taking bows at the end of the show, and I just had a huge smile on my face,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “It was the greatest feeling of being able to embody that story fully. 

“I was like, ‘Oh, I am never going to stop.’ I have kept doing the shows here at City High ever since.”

Lauren Darby, theatre program director at City High, says that Hutchinson-Reuss displayed early talent. What has impressed her the most, though, is her growth as a leader with each successive show. 

“Esme is such a rock star because she has always been one of the most enthusiastic people, whatever she is working on,” said Darby. “She will jump in completely, try anything, and experiment. She will be as weird and goofy as she can be.”

Darby says these skills help Hutchinson-Reuss not only as a performer but also as a leader for the theatre program. 

“She has no fear,” says Darby. “It sets a model for others for how to be playful and be a little more brave about their approach to being on stage.”

Hutchinson-Reuss says that becoming a leader was a natural result of gaining experience, but in other ways required a conscious decision. 

“When I was a freshman, I had so many senior mentors I looked up to so much,” said Hutchinson-Reuss. “Going into this year, I decided my main goal was to be that for the underclassmen. I am finally at the point where I feel like I know what I am doing, and I want to be the person who chooses to share that even as I keep learning.”

Another step in her journey came in her sophomore year, when Hutchinson-Reuss read Hamlet in an English class. She fell in love with the story, and then surprised herself again.

“Kind of on a whim, I decided ‘I am going to turn this into a graphic novel,’ without realizing what an undertaking that would become,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. 

In her free time, Hutchinson-Reuss began illustrating scenes from Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This taught skills of interpretation, composition, directing, and acting. 

“Theatre has just made me so artistically aware,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “I find that a lot of my different arts are very intersectional.

“When I am sketching for the book, I think to myself, ‘ok, how would I play this?’ Then vice versa, as an actor, I know more about how the little parts of one’s face make a mood.”

Hutchinson-Reuss didn’t start the project with the goal of earning academic credit. She wants to consider publishing in the future, but for right now, the mission is simply to finish the work she started. The goal is to complete each of the play’s five acts over the course of five years. 

“It is fun to look back and see the growth as an artist,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “It is a way to bring those passions together.” 

Darby says that the project speaks to her student’s adventurous disposition toward learning and creative expression. 

“It is a rare student who is willing to take on a project with a five-year timeline and is doing it completely as a passion project,” says Darby. “When she is working on it, she can focus in and do nothing else for hours.”

Also a social studies teacher at City High, Darby loves when academic learning can deepen a student’s passion outside of the classroom. Ultimately, though, she says this is one lesson Hutchinson-Reuss has taught herself. 

“Dedication might be the most important skill set she is developing,” Darby continues. “I hope one day students here can read it while they learn Shakespeare, because the artistry is wonderful.”

As a senior, Hutchinson-Reuss is embracing new challenges both as a leader and performer. It is the reason she fell into two leading roles in shows that opened just one week apart. 

Knowing this year’s group was strong, Darby chose to take on the challenge of putting on two fall plays this school year.

One show, titled East of the Sun, West of the Moon, would require elaborate sets, costuming, and lighting. It would also feature a large cast, which originally would not have included Hutchinson-Reuss. 

Instead, she would have focused all her preparation on the leading role of Rosalind in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. This play was to showcase City High’s most advanced actors at the Iowa Thespian Festival, which celebrates top high school talent each year at the UNI campus. 

“Her audition for Rosalind blew me away,” Darby says. “I was so awed by what she could do with this really difficult text and how much personality she brought to the role. Rosalind is one of Shakespeare’s most excellent female characters, and she has done so much with the opportunity.”

When the larger production lost its leading villain, however, it fell on Hutchinson-Reuss to step up. She learned the part, and the show went on. 

“She stepped into it with such grace,” Darby says. “Preparing for both roles has required her time every day of the week. Even though it has been an intensive process, she has done that with great aplomb.” 

For Hutchinson-Reuss, the extra work was just a way to give back to the activity that has helped define her high school experience. 

“There is definitely a place for everybody at City High, and a place for everyone in theatre,” she says.  “There are lights, makeup, costumes, set-building, and acting. You can find out what you are good at and join a tight community.”

Tech weeks, which are the run-up to a live performance, provided Hutchinson-Reuss with some of her closest experiences of belonging while at City High. 

“We are all eating together, getting dressed, putting on our makeup, and acting together,” says Hutchinson-Reuss. “We are all with each other so often, and I definitely think it builds a community.”