Seussical: The Musical

When I had discovered that our spring musical this year was going to be Seussical: The Musical I was excited because it seemed as if it would be a phenomenal production. Although I wanted to be in the cast as a minor role as the ensemble, I found that choosing this time at this point in my high school career was going to be difficult. A huge factor that played in my decision of whether or not to audition was the issue of school and whether I would have the time to commit to both things. In the end I chose school over the musical and at times felt like I regretted my decision. Because my sister was involved in the musicals, I always wanted to experience what she had told me...on my own and felt as if I was missing out on something by not auditioning. After thinking it through I decided to take this year to better and to polish off my acting skills before I took the stage next year.

So when the director asked if anyone was interested in devoting some time to help with backstage work, I eagerly volunteered. I decided upon helping Renee with costuming as I felt that it would be something fun and that I could count it towards one of the three theatre credits that I need for IB. At dress rehearsal I met the cast and they all seemed extremely warm and friendly, eagerly welcoming me as part of their drama family. As further dress rehearsals and technical rehearsals rolled on, the show finally approached. Now was the moment where all the hard work paid off. Something felt strange. I was anxious just like the rest of the cast even though I was part of the crew.

As Irene and I watched the Who's go on stage to perform their first number, we sat in the wings with the rest of the crew and watched. Upon hearing "Here on Who," Irene and I ran backstage to gather the hunch/black costume for Eliphelisha. It felt as if we had 10 seconds to completely transform her outfit although we probably had more time than that. After this, we helped with props in moving the clover field on stage. Our next job after this was to help Eliphelisha with her second quick change into a hunch. Now this one was the more difficult change because we really only had about 20 seconds this time. All our nerves and all the frantic-ness mixed together made me accidentally put her sweater on backwards. When the lights came on I noticed that the hood was in the front and felt terrible that I had done something so careless. However, I used that as a learning experience for the next four shows to do everything quickly but calmly.

In terms of the theatrical aspects of the performance, I felt that everything was really well thought out. Costumes alone were extensive as I could clearly see all the work that has been invested into creating these costumes and some from ordinary street clothing. The wild colors of the Who's clothing completely fit with what I had in mind and Horton's costume completely translated "elephant" to me. Because I had never sat in the audience, the only views that I got of the stage were from the wings. But what I did see and hear in terms of lighting, dancing, and singing was spot-on on opening night. This differed a bit by the Friday prior to closing night because the actors seemed a little bit off maybe due to not having been on stage for a week; however, the energy was brought back up to how it was opening night which gave the show a phenomenal opening and closing.

I am truly grateful to have been able to experience this with the rest of the cast and especially this cast. The fact that some people such as Marianne, Noelia, and Stephanie are so kind and modest really humbled me. It helped me to realize that greatness doesn't have to be big and showy but that it can be quiet. And the fact that the cast and crew were open to new people made this transition all the better as I never felt like an outsider. The memories and the friendships that I've acquired just by being in the crew motivates me to one day be in the cast.