GHS has produced many different musicals in the past. This year the musical that the directors have chosen to produce is “Beauty and the Beast.”
“I love that the cast quickly starts to feel like a team,” director Kyle Avery said. “It’s fun to spend time with students that all have a shared interest in creating the best show they can.”
When choosing what musical the school will perform, the directors look at what would fit the performers the best. They also see what would showcase the students’ talents. Another thing they take into account is how well the students will perform and if there are enough characters to showcase every student.
“Casting is really hard, probably the hardest part of doing the musical,” director Katelyn Wallace said. “We have so many really talented, hardworking students.”
Auditions were held on Feb. 12 Since there are so many people interested in being a part of the musical, there is not enough room for everyone, which means some students get cut. The casting process involves many steps. The students performed a song and learned a short dance from the musical and then performed in front of the directors. The students were then scored on their performances, and if the score is high enough they received a callback. After callbacks, the casting list was posted online.
“My favorite part about doing musicals is absolutely the people and getting to work with all of my friends to put together a show is so fun,” senior Lydia Edmonds said. “It brings out so many fun parts of everyone’s personality.”
During the musical season the rehearsals are held every day from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m. Sometimes the rehearsals are also held during the weekend. Since the practices are held later in the day, students are allowed to do other extracurricular activities like track and soccer.
During the first few weeks of rehearsals, the performers work on three things: music, choreography and blocking rehearsal. During the music rehearsal the performers memorize the songs and practice singing. During blocking, the cast must learn where to enter and leave the stage and most importantly how to interact with the other characters. Finally, at the choreograph rehearsal, the directors bring in Courtney Cairncross to choreograph the big dance numbers. The students learn to connect with each other during rehearsals.
“This is one of my favorite things in the world,” Edmonds said.
The final performances will take place on April 25 through 28 Both the students and the directors have worked hard the past month and will continue to do so until the final performance.
