Huddled under the red awning, CCHS students nervously awaited further instructions from Thespians president and stage manager Rylee Berger, all hoping to receive a role in the clubs next production.
Auditions for the spring musical, “Into the Woods,” began November 28 and ran through callbacks on the 30. Having been open to the entire school, the Thespians greeted a large turnout of 79 anxious students prepped and ready to sing their required one minute selection of a Disney song for their audition.
“Into the Woods” is a tale jumping to and from the classic fairy tale characters adored by children everywhere, but this story isn’t as happy as the bedtime stories they are derived from. Each character yearns for something, and in their desperation venture into the woods to retrieve it and, upon crossing paths, find that there is a reason the woods have a twisted reputation.
Those auditioning for the show started by learning a simple dance combination that would be performed by the lucky group called back for a second audition screening. Then the restless teens scattered about the campus hallways to squeeze in last minute rehearsals while awaiting the call of their names by the shows’ assistant stage managers, herding them to their audition.
Although the mass of students had been consumed by jitters, it was important for them to remain confident in their abilities.
“Your audition starts the moment you walk in the door,” Berger said. “So, the way that you carry and present yourself shows us who really wants to be a part of the show and helps us cast [the roles].”
The clubs past productions have left imprints on its audience, many of those trying out for the upcoming show having taken part in some aspect of the clubs’ activities.
“I’ve done props for three productions,” said sophomore Melissa Luque. “I wanted to audition so I could be part of the cast family because I was in props before and I saw it looked really fun.”
While Luque took a chance, and tried out for Little Red Riding Hood, her role preference, other members moved up the command chain to one of the assistant stage managers assisting the show, like sophomore Kaitlyn Behr who wanted to work with more than props for her fourth show.
“I wanted to be able to more involved in the shows,” Behr said.
The official cast list was released on the first of December, through the Thespians social media accounts. Rehearsals for the production will start up soon. From scene blocking to props, the cast has lots of work ahead of them for the spring show.
Photo by Casey Chapter
