Hailey Stevens, Sophomore
Recently, many typical high school activities are coming to a halt…but theater stops for no one. From masks to virtual rehearsals to many, many snow days, the cast and crew of this year’s spring musical is working their hardest to put on the best production possible.
Disney’s High School Musical first aired on January 20th, 2006. It quickly became “the most commercially successful Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced,” (Wikipedia.com). Described as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, basketball-superstar Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) meets shy, nerdy Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) at a ski lodge on New Year’s Eve, where they’re randomly picked to sing a karaoke duet. Though any sort of performing is far from their comfort zones, they were shocked to realize that they actually loved singing with each other. After break, Troy spots Gabriella in his homeroom. She quickly explains that her mom’s work caused her to transfer over break. Their past (though brief) singing experience leads them to audition for the school musical, much to the dismay of their classmates who want them to “stick to the status quo”. Jock boy and brainiac girl auditioning for a school musical? No way! The idea is crazy and completely unheard of, especially to the students of East High. Troy and Gabriella send their school into chaos (and a full lunch room war), inspiring other classmates to express themselves while others turn against them.
For newly-hired music teacher Mr. Neil Chaban, this year has been far from what he expected. Fortunately, though, he’s had many years of teaching experience and was able to well prepare for the show. He chose High School Musical because “people keep saying we’re all in this together! The show really highlights our talented senior cast and [High School Musical’s] themes of community and togetherness ring true to these trying times.” Though the experience was unexpected, Mr. Chaban has made the most of his first year at the high school and is really enjoying everything about the musical. His favorite parts include the finale, when you see everyone on stage “accept each other for who they are”, along with the journey of making the musical an inclusive place for everyone.
Unlike usual theater auditions, which typically consist of a live “performance” in front of a panel of judges, this year’s auditions for High School Musical were completed online due to the pause on extracurriculars last December. Each student had to submit a singing and dancing video (the dance from “We’re All in This Together”, of course!) in mid-December. Some students said that they preferred auditioning this way, as it was less nerve-wracking. Others, however, said that this audition was more stressful, since they were able to re-watch and pick apart each mistake in their singing and dancing. Next came callbacks, a sort of second audition for the directors to try students in various roles, and finally the cast list, prompting rehearsals to begin on January 8th.
Not surprisingly, Covid-19 restrictions have created several roadblocks throughout the rehearsal process. From an optimistic standpoint, mandates on social distancing and capacity have opened up an entirely new realm of possibility for future theater productions: pre-filmed, virtual shows. Continuing on from this week, the cast and crew will spend the next few days filming each part of the musical. Instead of the usual four shows with a packed audience, the cast will be performing at least six shows with an audience of paper cut-out people (and quite a few dogs). Through the use of different camera angles, new lighting techniques, High School Musical will be a production unlike anything Palisades has seen before. The show will premiere on a website called “ShowTix4U” on March 5th. Tickets are available all the way up until the premiere, so make sure to give this year’s cast and crew of High School Musical your support!
Sources:
Special thanks to everyone who was interviewed:
Mr. Neil Chaban
Katie Freeh (Senior)
Sarah Goggin (Junior)
Kate Bench (Sophomore)
Camryn Ivory (Sophomore)
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