photo credit: Ava Mejia
The dazzling lights, crafted sets and exciting music welcome the eager audience into the theater. Each year, Orangelight Productions, the school’s theater department, puts together the spring musical. This year, they will be performing “Mean Girls: High School Version” on March 19-22.
These shows are so much more than just the performance seen on stage for four nights. They include hardworking and dedicated students in every aspect of their craft, from tech and management to acting and props.
“I’m so grateful to be part of this production and can’t wait for audiences to see what we’ve created together,” senior Dria Mogaka said.
Mogaka is one of the many hardworking actors in this year’s musical, playing the character Janice Ian. Another actor in the show is junior Grace Hardjono, playing the iconic role of Regina George.
“It is hard stepping into such a character that is so drastically different from how I act. Regina’s songs are also very vocally demanding, so I need to be able to keep up the energy for the entire show to make that possible,” Hardjono said.
There is a lot of vocal work that goes into all of the music for each song, and many of the leading actors have music backgrounds.
“I am also taking private voice lessons, which I know many other people are doing as well to help prepare for the show,” senior Olivia Pazak said.
Pazak is playing the leading role of Cady Heron and is among the many vocalists working hard outside of rehearsals to make each song its best.
“I also train with my vocal coach, Justin T. Swain, who helps me strengthen my musicality and maintain healthy vocal technique throughout the run of the show. Keeping my voice strong and healthy is a huge priority for me, especially during a demanding production,” Mogaka said.
Beyond the vocals of each song, there is also a lot of dancing in this production. Mogaka and Harjono are two of the dance captains, while their role tends to work in the shadows of the show productions but really pulls the scenes together.
“In this leadership role, I help coordinate and clean choreography when our choreographer isn’t present. I absolutely love dancing, so getting to fully dive into learning every detail and assisting with choreography when needed has been such a rewarding experience,” Mogaka said.
The other dance captains working hard to clean up each aspect of the dances are junior Allie Zigler and junior Natalie Deutschendorf. Movements like this are a lot more than what is seen on the stage.
“The way that we operate quick changes backstage is something that I think a lot of people overlook. We have to be intentional with every movement and there are a lot of people involved. It is honestly a performance in itself,” Hardjono said.
There is so much that goes on backstage and behind the scenes to make each performance and scene flow with ease.
“The biggest challenge with the show will be managing the backstage elements and calling cues during the show. Most people don’t realize all the technical components, set changes, for example, that go into creating a show, and the work that goes into coordinating all of them,” junior Riya Pallapotu said.
Pallapotu is in charge of many of these behind the scenes elements, within her role as student stage manager. But there are so many other students working in the shadows of the show, senior Jaiden Harper is an example.
“I am a co-lead for our set crew, along with Mary Marallo. Being a crew lead comes with a lot of thought and responsibility,” Harper said.
The set crew leads help a lot with the inner workings of shows; they do a lot with woodworking and aesthetics.
“Together, we are leading our crew through the building and painting work that must be done in order to create all of the backgrounds and objects that are seen throughout the musical,” Harper said.
They start the rehearsal process over two months before the performance weekend.
“‘Mean Girls’ is such a massive performance and complex when you weave the actors and tech aspects together,” Pallapotu said.
There are more than 80 hardworking students dedicated to creating this year’s performance.
“I’m most excited to put on a performance that is incredibly iconic and resonates with our generation. I can’t wait for people to come see this and talk about it,” Pallapotu said.
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