Every day, students come to school and are given piles of assignments to complete that night. After putting on The Sound of Music earlier this month, many students have found that participating in the musical has given them a way to be expressive and build unity between those involved.
“[The best part of the musical was] the family aspect,” junior crew and chorus member Lilly Chillek said. “Developing an appreciation for the people around me and expanding my love of music while being with the people I love [was great].”
For theatre and musical veterans, The Sound of Music demonstrated great aspects of every element that goes into making a great show.
“I feel like everyone got to learn from this show,” senior and assistant stage manager Beth Akin said. “If this show was a person, it would be a triple threat [because] it had great music, acting, and tech-work talent, all combined to make a fantastic show.”
Although students experienced in theatre got to compare this show to others, some students who participated in The Sound of Music got their first dose of theatre. Senior Marc Garcia-Rhodes, who played Rolf, detailed how being involved in the play impacted him.
“The experience was definitely something that I’ll always remember,” Garcia-Rhodes said. “This being my first show, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but it was an amazing experience and I’m really glad I was a part of this incredible production.”
After putting on this musical, the cast and crew were able to see how adding different areas of fine arts to make this show a success were important.
“It was very neat to see all of the fine arts programs come together to put on this musical,” senior Rebecca Peirce, who played Sister Berthe said. “The members of the pit, crew, and cast were all from different fine arts programs, but were able to work together to produce a great show.”
By seeing all the aspects of fine arts come together, some cast members now know how important performing arts are to one’s high school experience.
“Fine arts isn’t just a program or a building, it’s a place where someone can go without judgement or criticism besides the positive kind,” senior Madison Saculla, who played Frau Schrader, said. “Personally, it’s my home away from home. My life wouldn’t be the same without any of those programs.”
Senior Andrew Liner, who played Max Detweiler, is involved in choir and theatre. Through his experiences, Liner notes how important this is to balance the stress that comes with high school.
“Fine Arts give students the chance to express themselves,” Liner said. “It is a chance for us to step away from the same routine we grew up with in school, which is sitting in a desk and listening to the teacher lecture.”
Many students that are involved in one area of fine arts are also involved in other aspects of the program. By adding in multiple elements of this, junior Addie Henry, who played Liesl von Trapp, credits fine arts being the best part of her high school experience.
“Fine Arts have given me such an amazing high school experience,” Henry said. “From marching shows, Feast of Carols, being in musicals, and so many other things, fine arts are a big, and extremely fun, part of school for me. It has not only given me friends, but also a family and a place to feel at home.”
By putting virtually every element of fine arts together for The Sound of Music, everyone was stretched in some way to meet the demands that this musical provided. Through all the hard work and time put into this show, they agreed that they had something to take away from this experience.
“The most rewarding part of the musical for me personally was being able to make stronger bonds with my current friends who were in the cast and crew and to create new friendships with those who were involved,” junior and chorus member Natalie Fisher said. “It’s rewarding to see how great of a show our Fine Arts department can put on when we all work cohesively as a team.”
