Direction Ideas for "Spring Awakening"

My play that I picked, "Spring Awakening" is all about sexual discovery and breaking out of a sheltered upbringing, as well as the consequences that come with learning about love the hard way. 

I feel like this play has many different aspects that could be focused on, but as a director I would of course have to focus my vision to a few strong points. 

CENTRAL IMAGE:

-The ballerina in the blue tights: In the opening act of the play, Moritz and Melchior discuss how a fleeting image of a ballerina in blue tights first gave Moritz the "masculine itch". I think that this ballerina, an image normally associated with grace and elegant romantic ideals, would contrast beautifully with the absolute awkwardness (and often pain) that the students endure in this play, particularly while exploring their sexual selves. I could implement this image by creating a silent character out of this ballerina, one who dances in a fluid manner about the two students who are discussing or experimenting with their feelings and bodies, literally dancing around the students as they dance around difficult topics.

SET:

-I would propose a simple set with one elaborate central piece. The central piece would be the bridge where the female characters hang out in the majority of the play. The bridge would be elevated, so there is a riverbank below: a tree on one side, a small creek in the middle, and a graveyard on the opposite bank. There would be a wall short enough for Melchior to climb over next to the graveyard. Other scenes that take place would have only essential furniture (desks, tables, vineyard materials, etc.) that would only be placed on far SL or SR when necessary. 

LIGHTING:

-Connecting to the set, the most important part of lighting would be to keep the graveyard side of the bank fairly un-highlighted, until after the death of Moritz. This could easily be accomplished with light cast from the graveyard side, so the light would cause the wall to be a shadow over the graves. Another lighting effect could be using a rosier lighting on the bridge and a bluer lighting on the bank where the boys hang out, and blend the two when one crosses into the others "territory".

ACTING:

-The most important part of the acting would be to make sure that the raw emotions are real. The physical contact has to capture the essence of a sheltered teenager breaking out. If possible, I would have actors observe as many young teenagers as possible, go to a middle school dance or something. To not dramatize the romance, but to make it REAL (though not necessarily natural).

Whaddya say Benji, whaddya think?