It’s that time again. As March comes around, the Survey of Theater and Dance class continues to work diligently on this year’s production, the high school classic, “Grease.” Costumes have been made, lines have been memorized, and the students are excited for its nearing opening night.
Junior Celeste Jenkins said. She plays the role of Frenchy, one of the Pink Ladies, a group of popular seniors at Rydell High School. “As a cast, we’re working hard on layering our movement so the scenes flow,” Jenkins said.
“Playing Frenchy is a huge deal to me because ‘Grease’ is so well known and I love the movie,” Jenkins said. “I’ve been working a lot on her voice and making sure my movements and words feel natural to nail the vibe.”
Jenkins was asked what she found most difficult.
“The biggest challenge for me is ‘Beauty School Dropout,’’’ said Jenkins. “Since I don’t sing, I have to act the whole scene just through my body language and facial expressions, which I find more difficult than acting while talking.”
Jenkins is most excited for the “costumes and wigs” on opening night.
Freshman Reagan Coleman is another member of the Survey of Theater and Dance production. She plays Jan, the youngest member of the Pink Ladies. Coleman has been working hard to “fully understand [Jan] and her development.”
“I do this by watching different adaptations of ‘Grease’ and seeing what other people portray Jan,” Coleman said. “I’ve also been working on baseline stuff like memorizing my script by reading it each night, knowing my songs that I have to sing by practicing the lyrics, and making sure I have all my costumes and props ready for the show.”
She said the class as a whole has spent every day “block[ing] through scenes together and nitpick[ing] little things to make sure we’ve perfected everything.” There is one thing Coleman wishes she could change about the year so far.
“One thing challenging individually is the constant critiquing of myself. After every line I deliver, I always think I could’ve delivered it a better way or I could’ve done something different in a scene,” Coleman said. “This thinking is good to an extent, but very quickly it turns from constructive criticism to wanting a state of perfectionism that’s just not possible.”
Despite this challenge, Coleman described the “euphoric feeling” that happens when a scene is finished.
“When we’ve been working so hard together to get a scene down pat, and then we run it and everything goes very smoothly, […] it just feels natural. […] On opening night I’m most excited to hear the audience cheer,” said Coleman. “It’s the most rewarding feeling to hear the crowd and just have that moment of realization that all the hard work you put into the show as a group and individually was worth it.” Coleman also wishes to acknowledge the amount of people working behind the scenes to push this production forward.
“The theater program is such a team effort and there are so many people behind the scenes that help to make everything happen,” Coleman said.
Not everyone in theater has just one role. Senior Madison Hill plays Miss Lynch, the English teacher, but she is also the stage manager for the whole cast. She has been working on her lines and comprehension of her character and her story, but also learning the music and choreography with the rest of the cast.
“It’s really satisfying when everyone gets a scene or choreography down perfectly after working on it all class,” Hill said. “I’m really excited for getting ready and hanging out together before the show on opening night. That’s always the most fun part.”
Being a part of a group means helping wherever you can, something sophomore Abigail Woodford knows all about. She plays Kenickie, a lead member in the T-Birds, the male equivalent of the Pink Ladies, but wasn’t assigned this role at the start.
“I was assigned this role after [junior] Joshua [Hughes] was unable to perform,” she said, “and I have to figure out costumes, learn Kenickies’s lines, and blocking!”
Woodford is also enthusiastic to share the hard work everyone has put into the play.
“I’m excited to show everyone what we have been working so hard on and see all the hard work we’ve put into it!” Woodford said.
This year’s Theater production will be March 26, 27, and 28 with doors opening at 6 PM, and will be selling concessions, “Grease” themed stickers, and exclusive “Grease” cast T-shirts. There will also be paintings, ink drawing, and much more from Erin Allen’s art classes. Plus, on every night, Edison Rahl, Calvin Clark, Graham Shester, Maddie David, Alex Hartman, Sarah Edgar, Tristan Ripani, Cordelia Clark, and Viana Shahbazi will play an assortment of jazz songs: a must-see on its own. Make sure to add these dates to your calendars, and get prepared to see an amazing performance from our school’s Theater class!
