It’s that time of year when West High’s theatre program performs another work of art, and this year is no exception. After performing their wonderful “Peter Pan” musical, they got straight to work planning their next performance which you have most likely heard of, this show being “The Great Gatsby.”
Choosing what show to do next was a hard decision but ultimately, they picked The Great Gatsby to challenge the actors. “Drama club chose to produce The Great Gatsby because it is a very serious show and can challenge the depth and range of actors. This show is a completely different feeling and tone than the family musical we produced in the fall, Peter Pan. It takes a lot of talent to play characters that are funny and carefree and switch to characters that are dynamic and tragic. Another strong reason we chose this show was because our junior students read this novel in class, and most enjoy it and are curious to see how we will choose to represent it on stage”, said Theater teacher Ms. Williams.
With such a big production it takes lots of work behind the scenes even with picking the actors for the show. Our Theater program was no exception as their audition process goes over the various requirements they look for in an actor.
1. We notify the school with posters and announcements that auditions will be coming up.
2. Students must prepare a 30 second monologue of their choice to present to the audition panel on the first day of auditions.
3. We assemble an audition panel of 3-4 people that are knowledgeable about the theatre, musicals, and dance.
4. Students must attend 3-5 days of auditions.
5. When students audition, we look for many things.
a. Voice
b. Projection
c. Character
d. Potential
e. Overall Audition
6. At the end of auditions, the panel meets for several hours to compare notes and develop a list of potential actors and potential characters we can see them playing.
7. We must balance the cast before we decide to post our choices. This means we pick the actors that we believe will develop and play the characters will on stage together.
8. We post the cast list on a Friday afternoon.
9. The next week we have our first rehearsal, which is always a complete read through of the entire play together with all cast members.
10. The first week of rehearsals we also have a parent meeting to inform parents of the rehearsal schedules, the expectations for rehearsal, performances, etc. We ask for volunteers to do various things to help with the show throughout the process because we cannot do the performances we do without help from them. We also answer any questions that they may have.
Hopefully after seeing all the requirements and work put behind the scenes, you have a newfound sense of respect for all the work our theatre program does. If this play has you intrigued, you will have six opportunities to watch the performance.
April 25 at 7:00pm
April 26 at 1:00pm
April 26 at 7:00pm
May 2 at 7:00pm
May 3 at 1:00pm
May 3 at 7:00pm
The show’s runtime will be about an hour and forty-five minutes and the cost will be $15 for adults and $12 for children and students with a school ID. If any of this got your attention, we encourage you to go support our school’s Theatre program and go watch the show!
