Seniors Riley Cartwright and Brayden Davis help build parts of the set for the play. Photo by: Cameron Maddox
By Cameron Maddox
Plymouth High School’s musical talents will be shown in the upcoming spring musical “Peter Pan.” Students in theater arts and choir will come together to perform on May 2nd and 3rd of 2014. Freshman Bayli Czarnecki said she is mostly looking forward to, “Performance night. There is nothing I love more than performing.”
A majority of the students have an already developed passion for acting and singing, like Sophomore Hope Barrow. She said, “I enjoy singing because music is a way to express ourselves. Each and everyone of us has a unique voice, no one’s is the same. We may be able to make ourselves sound like others, but there’s something different. That different thing is our uniqueness. If I didn’t know how to express myself through song, I honestly don’t know how I would make it.” Senior Breanna Morrow has similar feelings about acting. “Through acting, I have gained confidence that not only helps me perform but take on tasks in my everyday life,” she said.
As performers, the students know that auditions do not always go as planned. When asked how auditions went, Barrow answered, “Funny story, I didn’t actually get to audition (for a long story that I don’t necessarily want to go into, but does involve the words, “head trauma”); I was just given a singing part due to my musical background.” Freshman Michaela Meadors said, “I auditioned for Tinkerbell, but I got the part of the dancing Indian.” Meadors described her character as, “Funny, Loud, and Descriptive.”
Senior Vicente Vasquez helps cut styrofoam for the set. Photo by: Cameron Maddox
Preparation plays an immense role in being an actor. Hard work and dedication are essential when preparing for a show. The students usually practice four times a week after school. Not only do they have to attend after school practice, but they also practice on their own time. Everybody has different strategies to prepare themselves for performance night. Freshman Felicia Dixon said, “I plan on singing my parts everyday once I learn my parts.”
Even with the substantial preparation, there are still tough situations the actors have to go through. Junior Jessica Salazar said the most challenging part is, “The singing and dancing put together just because sometimes the moves might be hard and so keeping up with the dance as well as [singing] altogether might bring a challenge.” Sierra Strickland added, “Being put on a deadline. You know you have to be completely ready by a certain date, and if you fall behind, you let the whole team down. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you better hope that your supporting role is very good at improvisation.”