SPAMALOT: ERHS' long-awaited return to the stage
Dress Rehearsals (written by Victor Pack)
I arrived at the theater room right after school with dress rehearsals beginning at 3:45. Usually, they rehearse in the auditorium. However, when I visited, dance students were rehearsing for the Spring Showcase, and rehearsals had to be held in the theater room. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by theater kids (in a good way). People running around, singing, laughing, and just being alive with their friends. I even heard people determining their vocal range. To quote, “You’re an alto!” Once 3:45 hit though, they would all go into the theater room (or auditorium) and get down to business.
When I was inside, I was introduced to a few people, including a dummy. Many members of the cast have some sort of relationship with the dummy and he is a very important member of the cast, which is why it was crucial for me to meet him. Soon, Ms. Kissam came and reviewed with the cast what they needed to practice. Since I came during the early stages of rehearsals, people were practicing singing and dancing, not exactly performing scenes. There was a DJ playing music and people dancing and singing their lines. I must say, they were quite good singers.
Of course, you have your main roles. The main singers, the ones that get solos, the ones that have lines. You also have your ensemble, or background people, which are also key to a musical. As I saw them rehearse a specific scene, not only did they sing in the background, they also puppeteered dummies that were dead, as seen in the picture above. It was quite interesting. Clearly, everyone is vital to a good performance.
I had a very nice time watching rehearsals. They really are organized chaos, like any good thing. Everyone in the theater company is very talented, creative, and just awesome. I could tell how much they enjoyed performing as I sat like a typical journalist: computer on my lap, legs crossed, and lanyard on my neck.
COVID Delays (written by Sullivan Valdez)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A fan favorite for those who are fans of the comedy troupe. Flashback to two years ago: I was a freshman, with multiple friends in theater. I heard “Spamalot” was the musical of choice that year. I was excited, but had no clue that this musical would be a riff on the famous movie. The daily carpool gave me insights into the progression of the show.
Then everything stopped. The world slowed down and retreated into it's haunts. Live became televised; the show canceled, put on the backburner, held off until further notice.
Eventually, the cold winter turned to spring, life was once more allowed beyond the confines of our domiciles, and the show, once more, would go on. Masks made memorizing and dictating difficult. Fresh new faces filled the company, greenshirts who did not have their foot in the door unlike their upperclassmen counterparts.
Give or take the expected hiccups to any lead up of a show, all seemed to be going well. The show was on track. Lines were committed to memory, choreography put into place. Then the unexpected happens. Mrs. Kissam, director of the show 3 years in the making, catches covid and is unable to continue directing. However, the company decides that the show must go on. Then one of the show’s main leads, Eleanor Dalton, also catches Covid, and was barely able to return on time in able to perform for the three shows.
In the end however, the show was still a massive success. In face of all of these challenges, no one looked out of place. Nobody forgot a line. The show went on, and the show was perfect.
