By Steph Wetzel
Many students are excited about this years musical Shrek. Students of all grades were thrilled to audition and are determined to put on a great performance regardless of any issues.
“I have done many shows with the Williamsville East Drama Club, so I guess I auditioned because of the thrill of being on stage and being with some amazing friends people like our director and music director,“ junior Carter Richards said.
The majority of the students that did audition were not only excited to be performing, but to be able to spend some time with their cast members and make new friends. However less people did audition this year compared to other years, and some students think it was because some students were not interested in performing this particular musical.
“We had a significantly less amount of people audition this year. Which is tough because we usually get around sixty people auditioning. I think less people auditioned because of the musical choice. Many people think that Shrek is sort of a goof musical but it’s actually not at all,” sophomore Trisha Pickelhaupt said. Pickelhaupt also stated there were only two female roles to audition for this year, which could have been another reason less people auditioned. However, the musical choice and lack of female characters did not stop students from auditioning.
Freshman Adam Kluge stated, “I auditioned because of my immense love for theater and music, as well as the experience, and meeting and spending time with some wonderful friends. I would definitely have auditioned if the musical wasn’t Shrek.” Other students such as sophomore Matt Meade feel the same way. He stated, “I love acting, the musical could be anything. It’s our job to make it the best show ever.”
There were several students that auditioned for specific roles, some of them getting the roles that they auditioned for, and some being assigned other roles. Freshman Adam Kluge also stated, “You can get a role different than the one you wrote down, if your audition goes well and the director sees that you are appropriate for another role in the production.” Some of the students had a specific role written down that they got the part for, some students had no roles written down and were assigned a role, and some students wrote down specific roles but were assigned a different one.
Each student that auditioned is not only excited about putting on a great performance and doing what they love, but they are also excited about spending time with their friends and cast members. “I auditioned for a role and worked hard for the audition. I did get assigned a part that I’m excited to perform with, and that’s what I wanted in the first place. I’m most excited about working with my friends. We build a bond because we’re with each other for so many hours in the day for three to four months,” said senior Manjoyt Sandhur.
These cast members are hard working and determined to make this musical, as well as any other musical a memorable performance. They also think of it as a great way to ge involved while having a good time. Junior Lizzy Bamford stated, “When I first auditioned when I was a freshman, I was so scared of high school and making friends. I decided to try something different!”
The cast members are not the only people excited about the musical. Sophomore Rachel Xue, also known as the stage manager, is more then happy to be working this musical. “You get more involved being stage manager and you become closer to the stage crew and cast members,” she remarked.
