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Behind the Scenes of Beauty and the Beast

Part 1- The Rehearsal

During the middle of the month of December, students involved in the music department begin to prepare for the spring musical, this years being Beauty and the Beast. The audition process begins with a meeting. Packets of music are handed out and the level of anxiety begins to rise from that point until after the cast list is posted.

Preparing for your audition is a stressful yet essential part to auditioning. One must first learn all of the songs of the character which they are trying out for and sing them to their fullest potential. Then, after learning all of this music, you must perform the piece or pieces that you prepared behind the closed doors of the PAC in front of the two music teachers involved in casting. That’s when the waiting begins.

You walk out of that room usually either feeling as if that was the worst song you have ever sung in your life or that it was just okay. After auditions are done, a “call back” list is put up which is used to help decide who will take the lead and other speaking parts. The call backs are also done in the PAC but are in front of all your other peers who got accepted into call backs. You must be able to act the part you auditioned for as well as act for any other part you may be selected to read in a scene.

The wait after call backs is the worst part of auditioning. Many times, it takes almost a week for the cast list to be posted online. While many people who don’t get accepted are heartbroken by this, those who do are often ecstatic. The day after the cast list is posted, anyone with a speaking role is immediately given a script and told “Memorize your lines!” Then the fun part begins.

Rehearsals are often some of the best and worst parts of the making of the musical. Starting out, rehearsals are often 3-4 times a week and the leads and full company are mostly separated from each other. These rehearsals generally consist of running lines and blocking scenes. As time goes on however, full company rehearsals with the full cast begin to be everyday and sometimes at night until 9 pm. These rehearsals are often the hardest to direct and to be in. As the group of people gets larger, it is harder and harder to concentrate on certain things and people lose focus. However, these rehearsals are vital to the success of the musical. As the show gets closer and closer, rehearsals become more and more focused and lead to great success in the spring.

-Pete Esser