The play is over and the crowd is on their feet, applauding the effort and talents of the show.

The director looks ahead, feeling the adrenaline and the high that came with the success.

Maya Hardison, 21, visual arts major, is a student director who also starred in “Lysistrata” and “The Laramie Project,” which premiered last semester.

Jerry Prell, part time lecturer for the theatre department, said he enjoyed working with Hardison because of the energy and commitment she brings onstage and behind the scenes.

“I love working with Maya because she is super inventive,” Prell said. “She always brings ideas to the productions.”

“She’s just a terrific young person,” he added.

Prell has directed Hardison twice in the last two semesters: in “The Laramie Project” and “Lysistrata.”

“She’s exceptional in what she brings in rehearsals,” Prell said. “She brings that same sense of focus and dedication to what she does.”

Daniel Fuentes, 20, theater major, was a crew member on “Lysistrata” and said that Hardison is great at what she does on stage.

“She does a great job on fixing upon what the director would tell her to fix,” Fuentes said. “She never really missed a step and it felt like she was so comfortable being on stage.”

He added that Hardison goes to her fullest in taking her character in and making it her own.

She has always acted, so being a director has come easy to her.

“I’m definitely more critical of myself as an actor,” she said. “I remember before I was directing, acting was really, really easy for me. I just kind of did it, I never thought about the process.”

With the recognition of acting under her belt, Hardison said that she has become a better actor through directing.

But there was almost nothing better than the feeling of seeing the crowd after watching her play.

“It’s definitely a high,” she said. “(It was) one of the happiest moments of my life when you can hear the audience laughing, or crying, whatever the response is and you can feel the energy in the room. ”

“Lysistrata,” a modern adaption of the ancient sex comedy, will continue to play at the Campus Theatre on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 at 8 p.m and again on Nov. 8 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at the Ticket Office, online and by calling (310) 329-5345.