Lights, camera, action! Our upcoming school play will be Aladdin Jr. performed by our very own students. Hard work, determination, dedication and memorization are essential for the students that want to be a part of the production. When it comes to the play, theatre teacher Ms. Minerbi don’t play. She expects all of the participants to be at every practice. She is also trusting that all performers practice at home, too. Building/finding and being in touch with your character is the key to being a successful actor/actress. Memorizing you lines are very important, but, remember, you can memorize all the lines, but if you can’t deliver them properly as the character you’re trying to mimic, then you’re role is as good as nothing.
Last year’s play was “Pirates of Penzance”. It was the very first play that I was ever in. It was extremely nerve-wracking. Yet, at the same time, it was exciting and exhilarating. When it came time to do the first performance, my heart was racing so fast. It felt like my chest was closing in by stage fright. It was pretty emotional for some people, such as the seniors because it was their final play.
Last year, I was a part of the theatre class. Everyone who was in theater class automatically was in the play, but the roles were not set in place yet. Acting was something I wanted to do my whole life, so I felt very determined that I had to be the lead… and I was! When I first auditioned with my friend Faith Mafua, we sang the “floss song” from Zack and Cody. It’s not a typical song to sing/perform for an audition, but it surprisingly gave the both of us parts in the play. In class, I was always singing anyway, so she already knew what I could and couldn’t do. This was actually good for me and the play because if I sang like how I auditioned, it would’ve been a musical flop.
Vocal rehearsal is extremely necessary, The actors are singing constantly in practice. We had practice every single day and sang the same song about five times. This year for Aladdin Jr, the director Mirava Minerbi and chorus teacher Arkom Swamkum, set a schedule specifically for vocal rehearsals so that we all know the songs.
Last year, the songs were pretty difficult: some of the girls songs were really high-pitched. When you don’t have practice, you should really rest your voice for the performance. There have been times when the actors/actresses lost their voices due to overdoing it. For example, ME! When the performances came around I nearly lost my voice entirely due to constantly singing five days a week for the play. Initially I’m supposed to be the only one singing the high parts in the song “Poor Wondering One”, but, because of my voice, I told my fellow cast members to help me out on that part.
In practice when it is not your turn, one thing you should be doing is rehearsing your lines. Memorizing your lines is very important. Ms. Minerbi said, “Remembering your lines is more important than remembering your song because you have other people on the stage to help you with the song if you mess up.”
During performance time, three out of five of our plays were during school. Our first performance was right after homeroom. Everyone was so nervous. The little kids were shaking. Some of the upperclassmen were hyperventilating heavily. Everyone was super excited.
When the play was over, everyone finally appreciated everything; they had become so humble and grateful to be a part of the production. All of us would love to do it again, so stay tuned for this year’s play… Aladdin Jr.
