For the past few years, there has always been one person at Mr. Joe Pulio’s side as he directs the fall and winter plays, writing down blocking and notes, working with students individually, and (as Pulio puts it) just being his BFF. That person is English and Theater teacher Mrs. Sara Dreiling. 

If there is something happening at LFHS involving Theater or Speech, there is a high chance that Mrs. Dreiling is involved in it, too. She spent the past few years being a Speech Team captain and a co-director with Mr. Pulio. These are just a few of the many activities she helps with along with being an English teacher during the day. 

Since Mr. Pulio is retiring this year, Mrs. Dreiling will be taking over his theater responsibilities in the years to come, but he knows he’s leaving his shows in good hands.. 

“She is so kind, so compassionate, so patient,” Pulio said. “I know she’s an incredible teacher, but she’s also an incredible friend . . . she’s definitely somebody that I am going to miss a great deal.”

Pulio has been mentoring her for the past couple of years, and his directing style has definitely influenced her own. 

“Who I am as a director, and just my director instincts, I kind of judge based on Pulio,” Dreiling said. “If we are sitting in rehearsal and Pulio is like, ‘Try it this way!’ and I’m thinking the same thing in my head, I’m always, like, yes I did it!”

Mrs. Dreiling has been interested in theater since she was in middle school, participating in everything from tech to acting. She continued to study it in college, but a lot of her time was consumed by pursuing her education and English degrees and led her to Lake Forest.

However, when there was no one to teach the stagecraft class, Dreiling decided to go back and pursue her masters. This program allowed her to explore a variety of different shows, giving her inspiration about which shows she would be interested in directing. Because of this, she is now able to teach all kinds of theater classes and direct shows. 

She plans to choose a wide range of shows to direct in the coming years because she believes that young actors should be exposed to different styles. 

“For people who are in theater or just having a passing interest in theater, they should know these styles. I think it’s really important that over the course of 4 years, students have experience with all of those different styles. So I think that the plays that I’ll choose will have that in mind,” Dreiling said. 

For people that are interested in auditioning for her plays, her one piece of advice is: “just do it.” 

She pointed out that students have nothing to lose by putting themselves out there and trying out. You never know when a risk could pay off, and even if it doesn’t, that is just an opportunity to get feedback and improve for next time, she said It could also open a window into exploring a different branch of theater. 

Mrs. Dreiling has been inspiring to a lot of the students she has worked with over the years. Senior Tally Feingold has worked with her since freshman year and credits Dreiling with supporting her in countless ways over the years, both as a student director and as an actor. 

“As a student director, she was always willing to listen to what I had to say, and she took every one of my comments seriously which made me feel important to the production of the show,” Feingold said. 

Sophomore Nora Sharman had a similar experience. 

“In theater, a lot of the time you get a really strict director or a director who’s really nice but who doesn’t do anything, and I feel like Mrs. Dreiling is a combination of the good parts of both of those examples–strict, but so amazing and kind,” Sharman said. “She knows how to have fun, and I love working with her, but she also knows how to get things done. Every rehearsal we have with her is productive and I feel like I learn a lot.” 

With the chaos and energy that can ensue in a rehearsal, Mrs. Dreiling is a key part of getting everyone focused and giving people individualized attention if they need it.

“She is always willing to spend extra time on something if I don’t understand it or haven’t been able to perfect it. She also will continue to explain things in different ways until I understand them,” Feingold said. 

Mrs. Dreiling is excited for the coming year ahead, and all of her students and Mr. Pulio are excited for her as well. 

“Most importantly, she cares about her students and actors so much. She always notices if something seems off and always remembers details about every individual student,” Feingold said. 

The departing seniors are expected to miss her greatly, but now a new generation of Lake Forest students will be able to experience the joy of working with Mrs. Dreiling. 

“She is truly one of the best faculty members in this building, and I am so glad I have been able to work with her these past four years,” Feingold said.