Stellar Mind
at Fairfax High School

Reviewed on December 12, 2020

Cecil Turner-Veselka
Loudoun Valley High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

It only takes a word to breed a thousand horrible thoughts, and the act of living holds endless terrifying possibilities. For someone who struggles with anxiety, it feels impossible to make other people understand what they are going through. Stellar Mind allows others into that world by putting a voice to a battle that is often silent.

Written and directed by Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler, Stellar Mind depicts some moments during the typical day of the protagonist, Stella, a high school senior who has anxiety. Her best friend Adam has been hearing from colleges, and she has not. She had planned to go to a school near his, but that may be impossible. With her anxiety hounding her at every turn, she internalizes more and more, analyzing every word and expression in a way that is almost torturous to herself. The show ends on a more constructive note, however, with Stella in therapy, and the idea of growth. The message of the piece, progress is not linear - displayed on a title card after the last shot of the story - is evident through every scene in the show. Overall, it is a sincere, lucid voice for those with mental illness; one that promises a way onward.

The writers were inspired by their own struggles with anxiety and other mental illness, and this was reflected in the truth of their product. The dialogue, both internal and external, had a mundanity to it that made it very emotionally honest. Anxiety, a voice-over played by Isabella Jackson, treated Stella to a very familiar barrage of ‘what-ifs' that could stem from anything - a revealed secret about Adam's college choice or simply the act of walking to a car. Anxiety's seeming hatred of the protagonist drove the plot forward in a constant forward nosedive towards Stella's inevitable breaking point. There was never a scene that felt unnecessary, but rather each scene fit with the rest to make clear Anxiety's constancy, and its near complete control of Stella. The story ended brilliantly with Stella in the car, breathing through the aftermath of a panic attack, and with Stella in therapy. There was no easy solution, but the protagonist was able to keep going. A completely true resolution to a true story.

The performances of the three actors involved left little to be desired. Emma Dunlop, who played Stella, offered a balancing gravity to counter Jackson's frantic anxious leaps. Her physical reactions to anxiety, tugging at her necklace or her hair, felt particularly real. The strong chemistry between Stella and Ethan Clayman, who played Adam, particularly enhanced the story. Their friendship was a constant in the show and it was natural throughout. Clayman as Adam was a strong calming presence, his easy smile acting as a foil to Stella's restraint. Samantha Hayes, playing Marley, had a smaller piece of the story, but she still made herself understood through expressive reactions.

Stellar Mind is a clever, relatable, and vulnerable work. It presents anxiety in a way that can be grasped by anyone watching, while losing very little of the nuance of a human mind. As the credits were rolling, accompanied by a montage of out-of-character moments with the main actors, showing them laughing and enjoying each other, with Rowan Clark performing her professional, indie-esque song to round off the tone of the story, what lingered was a deep sense of carrying on. We will all laugh again, Stellar Mind says, even if it seems impossible right now. As Adam tells Stella at the close of every conversation, remember to breathe.

Leydi Cris Cobo Cordon
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

You never know what's going on in someone else's head. Fairfax High School's important performance of Stellar Mind was grounded in realism, showing the fluctuating relationship between Stella and her anxiety.

Stellar Mind, the completely student-created one act, has just had its virtual debut. Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler - the playwrights, directors, and editors - used their own experiences to tell the realistic story of a girl, Stella, who experienced anxiety. Stella and Adam were high school seniors and long-time friends. Adam had begun to hear back from the colleges he applied to, but Stella still hadn't heard anything. She began to worry about being far apart and losing him. Her inner dialogue was intense as she tried to face off against the relentless thoughts brought up by her anxiety. At the end of the show, Stella had made her way to a therapist's office and viewers were told that "progress isn't linear," reminding them to be kinder to themselves.

Emma Dunlop brought the role of Stella to life through her realistic portrayal of anxious mannerisms, intentionally fidgeting with her necklace during moments where she felt the most worried. She truly shined in the scene where Stella was left alone with Marley. There was a clear difference between her inner turmoil, voiced by Isabella Jackson, and her gentler responses to Marley's persistent attempts to meet up with her and Adam.

Despite having little screen time, Samantha Hayes made the most of it as Marley. Her use of subtle facial expressions was marvelous, masterfully adapting her theater skills for the small screen. Hayes' focus on the small details was what brought her performance to the next level. As Marley talked to Stella about Adam, Hayes took out a tube of lipstick and applied it, showing her flirtatious feelings towards him.

Stella's emotional journey was underscored by completely original music composed and performed by Rowan Clark, who attends WT Woodson High School. The songs were well-written and were of great quality. This fantastic artistic element added to the production, allowing the editors to play songs that were made to reflect what Stella was feeling. The soundtrack was also used to tie the bloopers back to the show by playing in the background and even including clips of Clark singing.

The bloopers, which played at the end of the performance, were a fun treat that allowed viewers to connect with the artists behind the show. They served as a reminder of all the work put into creating this performance. It was also a nice way of gently easing the viewers' emotions after Stella's outburst towards the end of the one act.

Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler's editing was expertly done. Anxiety's voiceover matched up well with Stella's responses in all the car scenes. Lane and Tyler were also able to use their directing and editing skills to create a good sense of timing. None of the scenes were choppy and the dialogue lined up perfectly, which is an amazing feat in a virtual setting.

From the acting to editing to writing, all aspects of the performance were realistic and tried to tell an honest story that wasn't magically resolved. The team of students working on Stellar Mind succeeded in telling a powerful and relatable story that reassures viewers of many things: be kinder to yourself, other people go through similar experiences, check up on your friends, and of course, progress isn't linear.

Zander Kuebler
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to FCPS Community News

It's easy to forget that being a high schooler is hard. There are countless inner struggles that are often overlooked and many more that are recognized but still misunderstood, particularly surrounding mental illness. Fairfax High School's "Stellar Mind" reminds us of the hardships of teenage anxiety and takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride into the world of two friends receiving their college acceptances.

A down-to-earth one-act, "Stellar Mind" was written by Fairfax High School students Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler earlier this year and was filmed and edited for a virtual setting. Lane and Tyler, who also directed the production, used their own experiences with anxiety to shape the world, creating an accurate portrayal of mental illness where mainstream media often misses the mark. The story follows best friends Adam and Stella as Adam receives his responses from colleges. Stella is overwhelmed by their potential futures and worries that her lifelong friendship with Adam is coming to a close.

Stella (Emma Dunlop) and Adam (Ethan Clayman) were incredibly believable as old friends and provided realistic portrayals of high school life. Dunlop's ability to be relatable and understandable despite the intense nature of her character was impressive, particularly during her character's most overwhelming bout of anxiety. She also excelled during her non-speaking screen time where she exhibited nuanced expression and emotion appropriately detailed by the film nature of the production.

Complementing Dunlop's expressive performance nicely, Ethan Clayman brought a casual charm to his character that made Adam likable despite his naivety. When Adam was talking about his college decision, Clayman depicted it with a smiling passion that was both authentic and engaging. Combine this with his soft-spoken reminders to Stella to, "remember to breathe" and it created the perfect balance of caring about Stella without really understanding what she felt. Together, their conversations appeared casual but were powerful, a testament to the writing and acting alike.

Writers Lane and Tyler took further advantage of the virtual setting to illustrate Stella's anxiety using voice-overs performed by Isabella Jackson. Despite being limited to audio, Jackson personified Stella's anxiety effectively, coming off as nagging when needed but also frighteningly aggressive as well. The film was further supplemented by Samatha Hayes's performance as the anxiety-inducing Marley. Hayes embodied the bubbly nature of her character well, eliciting frustration from Stella that added to the validity of her anxiety.

The technical elements of the production were appropriately clean and straightforward. Combining scenes from different rooms, adding voice-overs, and editing scenes together are all challenging, but the production ran smoothly and the editing did not distract from the show. In fact, the inclusion of phone icons when Adam and Stella were on a video call and the camera angle when Stella was in her car were unique uses of the virtual setting that added more to the production. However, the most significant technical addition was the inclusion of original music composed and performed by Rowan Clark. She mixed sweet, slow melodies with lyrics about longing and memories that melded beautifully with the rest of the production and created an ambiance of remembrance and smiles.

Despite the challenges of writing and performing a theatrical piece during a pandemic, Fairfax High School succeeded with "Stellar Mind," providing accurate insights on the struggles of anxiety amongst an engaging story and overall enjoyable production.

Aafreen Ali
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Submitted for publication to Patch (Fairfax/Alexandria)

Stress. Doubt. Hate. Fear. The many voices of emotion scream in everyone's minds. For those with anxiety, these voices scream louder and more frequently. Dive deeper into this condition with Fairfax High School's Stellar Mind.

Stellar Mind followed Stella, a high school senior, and her struggles with her anxiety. Backed by her best friend Adam, she dealt with the stress of imminent college letters, mean girl Marley, and the ever-present, cutting voice of anxiety in her head.

As Stella, Emma Dunlop accurately depicted the growing intensity of her anxiety throughout the day. During the rising action, her expressions remained placid, but at the climax she screamed aloud at herself and her inner voice with a note of desperation and frustration. Isabella Jackson, who played Anxiety, utilized a similar crescendo in emotion up to the climax. Jackson's well-placed dialogue and use of vocal dynamics conveyed doubt and loathing at different stages of the show in an effective manner.

Ethan Clayman portrayed Adam with a convincing duality of awareness and obliviousness towards Stella's thoughts and emotions. Dunlop and Clayman's friendly chemistry underscored their characters' long friendship and imbued it with a natural ease while they navigated their conversations. Samantha Hayes, as Marley, was memorable despite her short screen time. With her emphasized facial expressions and brightly colored costume, Hayes gave her character a compelling visual aspect that made her seem larger than life and worth Stella's worrying over her.

The cast and crew made a remarkably well put together virtual play despite the production barriers COVID-19 presented. The backgrounds of characters' scenes were well matched-- a difficult feat due to everyone's different environments at this time-- so it genuinely felt as though everyone was in the same place, which created an important visual continuity.

Creative editing added the familiar FaceTime icons to some scenes, a nice nod to virtual platforms, and blackout transitions between scenes made the production seem almost like a movie or TV show. The scenes were for the most part seamless; however, there were some awkward pauses in conversation when Anxiety spoke. Nevertheless, this awkwardness was alleviated by actions the actors did, like Marley putting on lipstick or Adam eating.

Cliche mental health tropes and magical ends to anxiety are prevalent in the media, but not in Stellar Mind. The short play portrayed the reality of anxiety and included intimate details of the condition like necklace pulling tics and the need to check under the car for intruders. These insights provided by writers, editors, and directors, Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler, contributed to an immersive and realistic depiction of anxiety as a mental health condition.

Original music by Rowan Clark, from W.T. Woodson High School, was a great touch, giving the film a lighthearted point of relief akin to a coming-of-age movie. Clark's live performance of the music, which was played over the bloopers at the end, was impressive and tied the play and bloopers together well. The cover art by Sofia Mesa-Morales was also commendable for its depiction of anxiety as a jumble in one's mind.

The impactful end scene, where Stella visited a therapist to get help, and the message of "Progress isn't linear" on the screen afterwards was a reminder that mental health is not an easy journey, but no one has to be alone throughout it. Despite the lack of a happy ending, the play was fulfilling and the messaging positive. In just eighteen minutes, Stellar Mind delivered more authenticity than many plays and films do in hours.

Leah Blum
South Lakes High School
Submitted for publication to Connection

"What if I'm not good enough," "What if they're not really my friend." Anxiety and nagging "what if" questions are often prevalent in the life of a high school student, or anyone, for that matter. In Fairfax High School theatre department's short film, "Stellar Mind," student writers Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler brought these struggles to the forefront in a story about life in high school.

The film followed high school senior Stella, portrayed by Emma Dunlop, an average teen who struggled with anxiety. Her anxiety was presented in the film as a voiceover by Isabella Jackson, interjecting Stella's life with anxious thoughts. Conflict and a flare up in Stella's anxiety came when her best friend Adam, portrayed by Ethan Clayman, voiced his concerns about getting into his dream college. Causing more anxiety for Stella was her classmate Marley, portrayed by Samantha Hayes, who used any opportunity alone with Stella to suggest that she was closer with Adam than Stella was. Stella's anxiety got progressively worse throughout the film, the most poignant moments coming when Stella argued with the voice in her head while driving, allowing the anxious thoughts to overwhelm her without distraction from Adam. The message conveyed by the film and its representation of anxiety within, that "progress isn't linear," demonstrated a realistic image of anxiety and the struggles faced by those battling it.

Dunlop and Clayman, when together in a scene, portrayed a realistic and believable friendship, with clear chemistry and excellent reactive expressions whenever the other was speaking. Dunlop didn't allow her performance to become exaggerated, and instead the little things were what made her performance great. When alone and speaking to her anxiety (Jackson), Dunlop showed a nuanced and accurate image of someone with anxiety, visibly becoming anxious while Jackson spoke and played with her hair or a necklace. Hayes' Marley was a high-energy snobbish girl that added more conflict to the film. She also increased the energy in her scenes. Together, all three actors and the additional voice-over actor created a believable cast of characters and drove the story forward through Stella's struggles.

"Stellar Mind" was completely original: written, directed, and edited by Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler. With an accurate depiction of life struggling with anxiety, stemming from the experiences of the writers themselves, the film was relatable and refreshingly honest about the realities of anxiety. Though it was filmed socially distant, similar backgrounds gave the illusion that the characters were in the same place for scenes such as one between Stella and Adam, as they discussed their futures on separate white wooden backdrops that came together through editing as two sides of a table. The editing was professional, with sound levels and the timing of the voiceover fitting well within each scene. A piece of cover art by student Sofia Mesa-Morales provided an interesting lead-in to the film, a silhouette of a girl in space with tangles of string in her head. Rowan Clark, a student at WT Woodson High School, composed and performed original music for the film. These compositions contributed to the overall anxious tone. Another song, played at the end over a blooper reel, added a final moment of optimism, with the knowledge that anxiety does not prevent someone from enjoying some happy moments in life.

Overall, "Stellar Mind" was a great short film to watch for an accurate, relatable depiction of an anxious teenager. As Stella fought through her anxiety, "Stellar Mind" showed more and more of the struggles many face every day.

Philip Callihan
Loudoun Valley High School
Submitted for publication to Fairfax County Times

Can you imagine if your greatest enemy couldn't be defeated? If each day was a struggle to escape the inescapable? If you had to carry the weight of the universe on your shoulders would you be strong enough? This is a question that millions of high school students around the world ask themselves each day, and the main subject of an original student made short film, "Stellar Mind." Written by Grace Lane and Madeleine Tyler, Stellar Mind tells the story of a young high school student struggling through life just like any other teenager, and how her anxiety drowns her in an abyss of hopelessness.

By far the most unique and striking aspect of this short film is the use of Anxiety (played by Isabella Jackson) as a voice-over character. Through this brilliantly developed character a lot of depth was added to the play overall and results in the writers' message shining through with richness and understanding to the audience. The acting in this short film was phenomenal and played a key role in bringing each character to life in a way which resonated with viewers. One major part of the acting done throughout this film was the dialogue between Emma Dunlop (Stella) and Ethan Clayman (Adam) who sold the realism of this play through waves of emotion. Further exemplifying their characters, both were perfectly adjusted to fit the needs of their roles to develop the vision of the writers. Through their acting, this work can no longer be called a "play" or "film," because to every audience member - This. Was. Real.

Richening the overall experience presented by Stellar Mind, was the exceptional framing of each and every shot throughout the performance. Through the delicate positioning of the camera in each scene, the ability to place the audience into the action was mastered by the directors (also Lane and Tyler) in a professional way. Possibly the most awe-inspiring piece of this work, was the incorporation of Rowan Clark's incredible original music, which was created especially for this film. Through its moving lyrics and compelling melody, the emotion was gut wrenching, enabling the audience to develop an even greater appreciation of this incredible film.

Throughout this work, one thing was clear: each person contributing to the production of this film was the best of the best, and they weren't going to wait for the world to catch up with them. From the story to the music, every piece of this performance exceeded all expectations. It is clear that some stellar minds were a part of this production.