Daffy: Interview with Aleksandra Uzelac
Having a creative outlet has always been important to Aleksandra Uzelac. Whether it’s drawing, directing her university’s fashion show or doing graphic design work, the creative arts have always been a constant in her life. When starting medical school, Aleksandra wasn’t about to let go of her creative pursuits and was thrilled when she got the opportunity to join the Daffydil 2021 team as its assistant director. This year, she’s back as director and has been working alongside the rest of the incredible Daffydil team to bring yet another iconic Daffydil show to life.
Q: Please introduce yourself to our readers and how you are involved with Daffydil.
My name is Aleksandra Uzelac, and I’m a 2T4. When I first started medical school, I really wanted to join Daffydil. A lot of friends had done it and said it was a great time. I joined as an assistant director last year and I'm lucky enough this year to be director for Daffy 2022.
I’d never directed a musical before. In undergrad I did some creative direction with a fashion show at our school that had singing and dancing. Some of that ties into musicals. But I've always enjoyed being creative and using that part of my brain; when the opportunity arises, I can't help but go after it. I had had a really great time doing director roles. What's fun about it is that you get to really work with other people. And you have your own vision and other people have their visions. You collaborate and work together to make something that you could have never thought of just on your own. So that's what appealed to me in that role. I was lucky enough to get [the role] last year, and I learned so much about directing and what it takes to put on a musical. I learned that everyone has something different that they can bring to the table. You can pull from different experiences. Even though I hadn't done a musical before, so many other things that I've done in my life could really translate into this role. Now, with my own assistant director, who has this different set of experiences than I do, it's really fun to be able to see where their strengths and skill set lies, and combine it so that you're better as a team. I really enjoy working on creative projects with other people. Working with other people brings out the creativity in me, and I just honestly love every little bit of it.
Q: What has been the most memorable part of being in Daffy so far?
All of last year was pretty memorable. I joined medical school during a pandemic year, when everything was from home, so I have no comparison of what Daffy is like in a normal year. But, it was pretty incredible to see what students can put together despite having the most insane restrictions placed on them; a team of students put together a two-and-a-half hour musical from home with green screens! We recorded an entire album for the movie and it was just so incredible. It’s amazing to think about what we can do, what we're capable of, and to see it all come together.
Something that was really, really nice was the ability for some of us to watch Daffy together during orientation week. It was really memorable to see it all come together on a big screen for the first time, and be around other members of Daffy–from people who worked behind the scenes, to the band, dance team, and cast. There was representation from all the different roles. It was just really special to have that moment, even if it looked a little bit different that [pandemic] year than a normal year’s.
Q: What does Daffy mean to you?
I think what makes Daffy so special is that every year, we're putting out a musical while we're in med school. [The Daffy team] are all there because we either enjoy it, or we want to try something new, or meet other people. The most special thing for everyone is that they can all take something away from it. Whether someone's joining because they love musical theater and they don't want to give that passion up in medical school, or others who’ve never done [musical theatre] before and want to do something outside of their comfort zone. So I think what makes Daffy really cool is that it brings a lot of different types of people together. Whether you're a seasoned musical person who's done [musicals] their whole life or this is your first time stepping on a stage or singing in front of others, Daffy is a space for everyone. Everyone's welcome.
Q: Where do you see Daffy in the future?
Daffy usually touches on themes that resonate with medical students. It’s students sharing their experiences and I think, last year, building [Daffy] from home is definitely a reflection of the times [we] were in. Moving forward, it shows that Daffy can still happen even in different mediums in different ways. We are hoping for the return in person--having those moments with the whole crowd, and being able to perform live on stage. But I think, no matter what happens, we have such a dedicated group of people every single year who just want to see [Daffy] come to life. What's exciting about [Daffy] is that everyone's so different; with creative projects, there are no limits or bounds to what you can do. So who knows where Daffy will go and how it will change? I'm sure if you asked people 10 years ago if they thought we would ever make a movie, particularly the way that we made it [remotely and with green screens], they probably would have never guessed that or believed that. What makes these creative projects really fun is that they can be anything, so long as you can think of it, and you want to bring it to life. Who knows? If there's anything we learned from last year is to be open to that change and creativity.
