It is that time of the year again that the spring drama production is off to a wonderful start! While the cast members are leaning into practices, they have revealed to us what they are performing. Every other year the Drama Club chooses a different musical to do, and this year it is The Addams Family Musical. They are starting with 29 returning cast members and 4 new members.
Even though it is only the beginning of the year, these Bulldogs got a head start. Auditions for the spring play were held in December and over Christmas break, the cast list had come out. Practices for the show had started the first week back from break and are continuing until show day. These practices consist of the ensemble learning their music, actors practicing their lines, and even dance lessons!
As all play auditions go, the musicals are usually more stressful because the students must sing in addition to reading lines for a spot in the show.
As these actors take the time to learn these things, they are also on a time crunch with being off-book in just 18 days! Normally it is 6 weeks of practice for these Bulldogs, but this time it is 12 weeks. This year has also brought something new to the match, these Bulldogs are not only doing one weekend of performances but two!
The Drama Department had chosen this exact musical because of their trip last year at the Thespians Festival. The Thespians Festival is a theater festival that lasts for a weekend and brings together different theater troops from all around in one place to learn different things. You get to watch other schools perform different plays and have breakout sessions to better your understanding.
While getting ready for this show, the Drama Department is also getting ready to return to The Thespians Festival this year! However, they are not only watching the performances, they will be in it this year.
President Clover Wagner expresses, “I am incredibly excited to perform at this year’s Thespian festival. This is my last Thespian festival in high school and it makes me so happy that I get the chance to perform. I think it’s going to be an unforgettable experience. Practices have been more than good recently. We started out doing four weeks of music rehearsal, which was so nice. We just started blocking our scenes this week. In three weeks we will be off book. After that, we will focus on acting and characterization. The most exciting part of this Spring musical for me is learning new styles of dance. I’ve been dancing all my life but in this play, I get to try new styles such as tango and line dance. I am so incredibly sad to be leaving after this musical. I just know that when the end comes, I am going to be an emotional wreck. I wouldn’t trade my Lakeview High School drama experience for the world. This department and these people have changed my life for the better. I am so excited to do this musical with my drama family.”
Although they are working on the play, some emotions do go into this production.
Senior Brayden Smith describes, “Practices have been pretty fun so far. I always enjoy it when we do musicals. The most exciting part about this spring play is that I have the lead and I get to sing a lot, which is one of my favorite things and I enjoy it a lot. I am very sad to be leaving, but I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished in my time in the drama club and I’m very proud and grateful for all the people I’ve met in the program. My favorite memory so far during this production is the tango lessons I’m taking for the play. It’s always fun to break out of your comfort zone and try something new. I am also very excited for Thespians. I enjoyed a lot of the plays that were showcased there last year and it’s a great way to see and learn more about theater.”
Recently the Drama Production also put on a 24-hour student-created theater. Their 24-hour student-created theater is when a variety of students write 3 mini-plays, learn them in one day and perform. This year it was from 9 am- 6 pm so they could practice their lines and run their shows until they performed at 7 pm.
