After countless hours of practice and preparation, members of the fine arts department sang and danced before an enchanted audience in their spring musical, Crazy for You.
“When we pick a musical, we want to put a really great script and a really great musical score in front of the kids, because when we put great things in front of them, they rise to the occasion,” choir director Alex Medlock said.
With around twenty hours of practice per week, the actors had time to perfect their performances, but spending a lot of time practicing for the musical can take away from academic performance.
Spending twenty hours a week at practice, participants had to remain dedicated to the musical to ensure a stellar performance, even if it meant giving up time in other areas.
“My AP history grade went down,” sophomore Rachel Warden said. “Being a part of the musical was very fun, but it was a bittersweet situation because I was missing out on a lot of other stuff.”
Although being a part of the musical takes a lot of time and effort, the benefits of participation have lasting effects and can introduce students to new experiences.
“I learned a lot about being on stage and acting, and I got close to a lot of choir members,” Warden said. “I learned that I want to be a part of theatre in the future.”
In preparing for the role of Bobby Child, senior Nathan Kerr pulled from his experience in the band, choir and theatre programs to better portray the lead male role.
“I’m very musical, and that’s what he was,” Kerr said. “The character likes to dance and sing.”
Producing the musical involved the work of many students, parents and teachers behind the scenes, making costumes, sets, and, among other things, performing live music in the pit orchestra.
“We give the kids and opportunity to be a part of something much bigger than themselves, and it allows us to collaborate and give a real world application for what we do in the classroom everyday,” Medlock said. “So when we combine dance, theater, band and choir all into one production, we give them a vision of what we do, and why we do it.”
