Eva Yu, Staff Writer
December 8, 2023
Every February, students, parents, and faculty flood the seats of Vinik Theatre to watch the Nobles Theatre Collective’s (NTC) winter musical. From Broadway shows such as Something Rotten to Shakespeare adaptations like Twelfth Night, the NTC musical always draws in a multitude of talented students. With a huge title like Mean Girls on the docket, the Performing Arts Department faculty have their hands full preparing for another amazing winter season.
Oftentimes, the musical is decided in the preceding spring, long before the winter season actually begins. When asked about the choice to do Mean Girls, Director of Theatre Dan Halperin said, “Positives to this musical include the ages of most of the characters relative to the age of our actors and performers, the popularity of the title in a year where we thought it was important to do a big well-known show, the number of opportunities for ensemble members and leads, and the contrast with what we did last winter is really strong.”
The winter musical process begins as soon as the school year starts. Theatre faculty get together to plan out every detail in preparation for the winter production. Performing Arts Faculty Anna Parker, who works in tech theatre alongside Performing Arts Technical Director Erik Diaz, said, “[The process] starts as soon as we pick the show, in part because we want to pick shows we know we have the ability to do. Erik will start thinking about ideas and feasibility as soon as possible.” Halperin also starts the process early by breaking down the entire musical scene by scene and blocking them all out using notes.
After the musical is decided and the faculty completes all the necessary preparations, the season starts. This usually begins with a week of auditions right before Thanksgiving break to decide the main cast and ensemble for the production. Halperin said, “[For] most of the leading roles you’re looking for the strongest actors and singers that you can find, and you’re looking for who has prepared the most thoroughly as an indication of how hungry they are for it, and how hard they’re likely to work throughout the whole process. And you’re looking for how different people are able to act and sing specific moments in the script and score.” Halperin also has to consider how logical it is for an actor to play a certain role, including their age and vocal range. This process is grueling and has a tight turnaround, but each year, Halperin releases a cast list before Thanksgiving to kick off the season.
In another crucial part of the musical process, Director of Instrumental Music Antonio Berdugo, must finalize the roster for the instrumentalists that will accompany the singers. When asked what type of musicians he looks for, Berdugo said, “I am looking for instrumentalists who are comfortable playing with a different style. Pit band isn’t a concert, we are accompanying a whole cast, so the process is not only learning the piece but it’s also learning how to play with the cast.” This includes inviting musicians he believes will contribute to the band as a whole and auditioning instrumentalists who are interested.
Halperin said, “Once we’re on the other side of the audition process, generally the initial thing is learning the music and doing some staging and choreography. As we go from first rehearsal to tech, it goes from mostly music to mostly staging and choreography.” On the afternoon program roster, the musical is split into three parts: ensemble, technical theatre, and pit band. As the cast and crew approach their performances, these three groups become increasingly integrated, until they can showcase a finalized show for the entire community.
Although faculty do a lot of the preparatory work, students are still at the core of the musical. Parker said, “The design process is entirely done by faculty and professionals, simply because we don’t have a design program here. But the build of the set, the lighting installation, some of the sound installation, and then nearly all of the technical duties during the show will have been done by students.”
Stage Manager Karina Cruz (Class I) has a long list of responsibilities. Cruz states, “I take blocking notes, keep track of props and anything and everything on stage and backstage.” Cruz also handles communications between lighting, sound, scenic, props, projections, and costume designers. Although the musical is only performed for a week or so each year, the amount of work and time that goes into preparing for the season often goes unseen. The cast and crew work hard to produce the best show possible. I know I will be waiting with bated breath to see what amazing surprise the cast and crew of Mean Girls will bring us this season.
(Photo Credit: Ben Heider)
