November is finally here, and with it brings Battle High School’s fall musical. Every year Battle organizes a student musical, comprised of our school’s finest actors, singers, and tech crew. This year, our students have worked hard to put together “Grease,” a tale that takes place in the 1950s and tells the story of two teens in love.
Starting in September, students audition for their roles and begin to get to know their characters. Actors read through their roles many times, working to memorize paragraphs worth of lines, along with the lyrics to all the show’s songs. They rehearse tirelessly from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. all throughout September and October, then transition to 3 ½ – 5 hour rehearsals in November. Cast and crew also come together a few different weekends to help build the set. This year, they spent a total of 105 hours working on set building.
“It’s awesome to be a part of the making of all this stuff,” said Sophomore and Assistant Stage Manager, Melinda Olson. “Even if you want to sit in the shadows, you can play just as big a part in making it all happen.”
Some of Battle’s performers have been acting for years, one of them being Audrey Thomas, a junior at Battle.
“I’ve been doing school theater since middle school, but I’ve been doing shows in general since I was 7,” she said. “I just do it because I enjoy it. I have so much fun. I don’t even know how many shows I’ve done now. Probably 12 or 13.”
Audrey was the lead of last year’s play “You Can’t Take It with You.” She was a Sophomore at the time, making her Battle’s youngest actress to play a female lead.
Not everyone who auditions is experienced in theater, but that doesn’t stop directors Timothy Hercules and Myriah Araiza from creating the best musical possible.
“I think we have a very diverse cast. A lot of the cast is part of show choir or have been in musicals in the past, but we also have quite a few members who have had experience in acting but not singing, and some who have never been on stage in their life,” said Senior and stage manager Carly Fox. “It’s amazing to watch those without prior experience come onstage and give it their all and fall in love with performing, just as so many others have.”
Many students expressed how much they love working with their directors and how much they really mean to them.
“I’m a senior this year, so this is my last show I will be a part of… I will really miss working with Herc and Araiza, but they have taught me so much that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. They are the reason I continued to be part of the shows and had these incredible experiences. They have shaped my life and I will never forget the impact they have had on me,” said Carly Fox.
Another student, Ryan Meade, a senior and cast member, said, “Hercules has been really helpful in growing students individually and as a cast. He helped me a lot in preparing for my solo and feeling good about it. He makes rehearsals really fun, and he’s always having a good time.”
Watching the work put into this musical and the devotion the cast and crew has to making it amazing was extremely impressive. From September to now, the cast has grown in both confidence and skill, resulting in an amazing show that you definitely don’t want to miss. Performances take place November 18th, 19th, and 20th at 7:00 p.m. every night. As they’d say in the show: “Grease is the word!”