1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,640 Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education, 2 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,200 technology and design. 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,640 I'm your host, Mr. Jason. 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:24,000 Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting. 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,440 Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,060 with an international flavor. 7 00:00:30,060 --> 00:00:34,000 This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,200 Community School of Bangkok. 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:42,320 In today's episode, we have the privilege of talking to several student cast members 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,560 of this year's musical, along with the director and his choreographer. 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,280 I'm joined by co-host, Premi and Patience. 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,960 But before we get into details about the upcoming show, Susical the Musical, let's hear our 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,000 quote of the day and get some headline entertainment news. 14 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,080 A quote of the day comes from Charlie Kaufman. 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,800 He's quoted to have said, there's theater in life, obviously, and there's life in theater. 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,320 This quote highlights the connection between theater and real life. 17 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:10,720 It suggests that art imitates life and vice versa, as theater often reflects human experiences. 18 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:15,000 This quote also implies that theater often allows individuals to explore and understand 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,600 the complexities of life through storytelling. 20 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:22,180 And finally, life itself can serve as a source of inspiration for theater production. 21 00:01:22,180 --> 00:01:25,040 And now, onto some news from the world of entertainment. 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:31,280 Our first news piece is quite sad, especially if you are a big fan of the hit show, Friends. 23 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,880 Matthew Perry, who plays Chandler Bing, passed away recently. 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,680 He was 54 years old. 25 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,600 According to E! News, Matthew Perry was laid to rest at a private funeral attended by close 26 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,800 friends and family members. 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:49,920 Matthew Perry, along with his co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, 28 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:56,240 and David Schwimmer, played their roles on Friends for 10 seasons, from 1994 to 2004. 29 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:00,560 And now, moving onto the worlds of American celebrities who own professional English football 30 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:01,560 clubs. 31 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,120 No, this isn't an episode of Ted Lasso. 32 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,880 According to Entertainment Tonight, Ryan Reynolds wanted to throw up after he was told how much 33 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,080 his team, Rexham AFC, lost. 34 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:16,640 And it seems Ryan Reynolds and his partner Rob have lost close to 12 million US dollars. 35 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,520 However, there is a silver lining to this story. 36 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:21,980 Rexham AFC did win their league title. 37 00:02:21,980 --> 00:02:25,480 The Prince of Wales even sent out a tweet to congratulate them. 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:30,320 And finally, this next news piece is a mix of a tech billionaire slash business celebrity 39 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:36,200 who has gone into the violent sport of mixed martial arts, or for short, MMA. 40 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:42,420 The 39-year-old billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Metta, had a surgery recently 41 00:02:42,420 --> 00:02:47,280 after tearing his ACL while training and preparing for an upcoming MMA fight. 42 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,080 And according to ET, the injury also comes more than two months after Zuckerberg called 43 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,200 off a highly anticipated fight with fellow tech CEO Elon Musk. 44 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,560 Zuck wasn't happy when he found out that Musk was not serious about getting into the ring 45 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:02,720 to fight him. 46 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,880 Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. 47 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,720 Okay, that ends our entertainment news for this episode. 48 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:12,160 Thank you for the quote of the day in our headline, entertainment news. 49 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,960 And you're right, patients, that's news you just can't make up. 50 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,360 The entertainment industry is a funny business. 51 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,360 Alright, it's time for our first segment and we are joined by several cast members 52 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,040 of this year's musical titled, Susical the Musical. 53 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:27,960 Patience will start us off with our first question. 54 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,400 Welcome to the show, everyone. 55 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,640 We are so happy to have you all on. 56 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,680 To start, could you please introduce yourself, tell us what grade you're in and what role 57 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,240 you're playing in this year's musical. 58 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,400 Yes, I am Malachi Smith. 59 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:48,320 I'm a senior this year and the role I will be playing is to the cat in the hat. 60 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,160 I'm Kylie Overstreet. 61 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,840 I'm also a senior this year and the role I am playing is Maisie LeBird. 62 00:03:54,840 --> 00:04:02,700 I'm Peech and I'm Virjuran and I'm in grade six and the role that I'll be playing is Jojo. 63 00:04:02,700 --> 00:04:04,100 My name is Nishka Gurung. 64 00:04:04,100 --> 00:04:08,160 I'm in ninth grade this year and I play Gertrude McFuzz. 65 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,160 Thank you so much. 66 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,600 And as we all know, a lot of work goes into putting on a live musical show. 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:14,680 Last year was Shrek. 68 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:16,360 This year is Susical the Musical. 69 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,360 For this year, what's it been like behind the scenes and what challenges have you faced 70 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,360 and how have you overcome them? 71 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,560 This year has been really fun and as you know, I was Pinocchio last year in Shrek and it's 72 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,240 just been really great to be back on stage. 73 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,240 I really like the songs and the dancing, like the choreography. 74 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:36,680 It's all really fun. 75 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:45,000 One challenge that I've had to overcome is creating physicalities and accents for each 76 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,600 character I play because the point of the Cat in the Hat is that he pops up in random 77 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:57,480 places and the audience never really knows where that's going to be and I could play 78 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:04,380 any number of characters and so distinguishing with my physicality and my accent is crucial 79 00:05:04,380 --> 00:05:06,920 for the audience to enjoy each character. 80 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,720 So that's been a really fun thing to figure out. 81 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:14,240 I think one of the coolest things about the behind the scenes in this show is just how 82 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:20,360 fun it is and this might be my favorite musical that I've done at ICS just because the atmosphere 83 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,520 is really fun, all the songs are really fun, the cast is getting along really well and 84 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,880 so that just makes it a very enjoyable show because every rehearsal I look forward to 85 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:30,640 doing it. 86 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:36,540 But some challenges that I've faced are mainly my songs have challenged me a lot vocally 87 00:05:36,540 --> 00:05:41,540 because it's a different style of singing than I'm used to and also I've had to do 88 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:48,680 a New Jersey accent which I am not used to and so learning how to act in a charactery 89 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,760 voice and singing these songs has been a challenge to me. 90 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:55,160 I like enjoyed physical a lot. 91 00:05:55,160 --> 00:06:00,480 Some challenges that I faced was like the transitions I had to get from some places 92 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:06,440 to other places while in like Shrek I only had to go on stage and off stage and that's 93 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:13,200 it and so however this year in physical it was like much more fun because I got to get 94 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,880 more involved in the songs than I did in Shrek. 95 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,840 I really like being a part of physical I just really like being part of musicals in general 96 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:28,600 mainly because of the rehearsals and getting to spend time making friends and spend time 97 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,360 singing and dancing and performing with my friends. 98 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:37,720 This year something that was challenging for me was the acting in physical because before 99 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,920 in the past with my roles in musicals they've been a lot smaller so there hasn't really 100 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,160 been that much acting I have to do so I had to learn a lot and that was pretty challenging 101 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,360 but it was also really fun. 102 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,080 Well that must have been really challenging but I'm really glad you guys have overcome 103 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:54,080 those. 104 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,440 Our next question has to do with auditions. 105 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:58,700 Casting auditions can be quite competitive. 106 00:06:58,700 --> 00:07:03,960 Were you nervous during the audition rounds and did you get the role you were hoping for? 107 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:11,080 To be honest I was not very nervous and in hindsight I think that was a bad thing. 108 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:17,520 I think it's really important to be nervous as if you're too calm you don't give all 109 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,920 your energy and you're not at your best. 110 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,000 Even though I did get Cat in the Hat I think I barely got the role and I could have been 111 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,080 much more prepared for auditions and callbacks. 112 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:33,560 So I think one thing that's really important is to just give it your all and mentally be 113 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,600 prepared to do that. 114 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:43,620 If I hadn't gotten the Cat in the Hat I'd probably have wanted Mr. Mayor or the General 115 00:07:43,620 --> 00:07:48,480 because Mr. Mayor also has a really fun song called Here on Who. 116 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,720 Like since I've seen it been performed by Isaiah Cannon so many times it just looks 117 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,120 like really fun. 118 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,600 Or the General which is played by Noah Lowe. 119 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,800 I think he has a really great song. 120 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,400 That's a lot of fun so probably one of those two. 121 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:06,960 Yes, I was definitely nervous but I think I wasn't as nervous as I was last year during 122 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:07,960 Shrek. 123 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,040 During Shrek I was terrified. 124 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,080 I think this year part of the reason I wasn't nervous was because I wasn't hoping for a 125 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:15,320 specific role. 126 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:21,000 I kind of just went and like Malak I said gave my all and I think that's what helped 127 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:26,100 with the auditions because if you go in yes nervous because you want to be a little bit 128 00:08:26,100 --> 00:08:31,960 nervous in order to do well but also if you go in just excited and ready to do your best 129 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,800 then I think you'll always have a good outcome. 130 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:40,480 And so yeah I didn't really I wasn't sure what I expected for this show. 131 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:41,880 I don't think I was prepared well enough. 132 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,240 I didn't know the parts well enough but I just went in and gave it my all and I'm really 133 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,200 happy with the outcome. 134 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:54,800 And if I hadn't gotten Maisie I think I would have been happy with any of the characters 135 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,920 but I'm very happy with the part that I got to play. 136 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:02,840 I was pretty nervous during the physical audition. 137 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,320 Actually more nervous than I was in Shrek and I was like kind of scared. 138 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,760 I actually was thinking of like getting some like minor characters since I got something 139 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:19,680 in like Elf in Shrek but like now that I got Jojo I'm actually pretty excited and I'm 140 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:24,680 more energetic for the next audition that might happen. 141 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:29,820 During the first round of auditions I wasn't that nervous because I'd already done auditions 142 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:34,800 before in previous years and I was just happy to get in and be part of the cast but I was 143 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,840 really really really nervous during callbacks because they put out a spreadsheet where it 144 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:45,240 was like the people who were going to be considered for roles and then I really really liked the 145 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:49,480 character of Gertrude and I listened to her songs beforehand but I was really intimidated 146 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,240 because everyone else who was trying out for the part was older and more experienced than 147 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:59,560 me so I felt like I wouldn't get it at all and I was really scared during callback. 148 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,360 I'm so much respect for all of you though. 149 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:06,160 I like just auditioned alone if I were to go I would be absolutely terrified. 150 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:11,320 Okay now our final question of this segment is an if you were question. 151 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,200 So if you were able to play another role in the musical what role would you choose and 152 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:16,680 why? 153 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,080 So I realize now I actually answered this question. 154 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:20,820 What was I supposed to? 155 00:10:20,820 --> 00:10:26,480 So I'll answer the question that I didn't answer which was did I get the role I was 156 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:33,120 hoping for and yes I was totally unlike Kylie I was hoping for a specific role and it was 157 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,040 very lucky that I got that but that's not the best mentality. 158 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:42,640 I just happened to look out and yeah I mean the Can the Hat is just a blast to play and 159 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:48,600 he's got so much like like sass and it's such a fun character to play and something that 160 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,400 I've never done anything like before. 161 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,960 It's been fun to really push myself, push my singing levels like I've been taking voice 162 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,560 lessons and push my acting. 163 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:05,360 We actually went and saw West Side Story for a theater project and Mr. G he told us that 164 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,120 that Broadway level of acting should be our standard and so for the past like two months 165 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,800 I've really been trying to push and aim high for my standard for myself. 166 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,320 I think if I were to play another character if you'd asked me at the beginning of the 167 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:25,280 show I would have said the Cat in the Hat because it's definitely a super fun character 168 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,520 and there's so many parts to it but watching Malachi play it I don't think I could possibly 169 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:30,840 do it. 170 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:36,520 There's so much work that he's put into that and so I definitely don't think I could do 171 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:40,800 that and there's so much cool characterization to that. 172 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,060 So if I were to play a different character I think I would choose one of the Wickersham 173 00:11:44,060 --> 00:11:48,840 Brothers because they have some of the funniest scenes even though they're kind of a smaller 174 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,960 part they're definitely something to look out for their songs are super fun they're 175 00:11:53,960 --> 00:12:00,360 silly each of them has very strong characterization but and they just work so well together so 176 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:06,200 yeah I would definitely pick one of them just because of the fun that they bring to the 177 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:07,200 show. 178 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,960 I would like want to play some like minor characters like characters that would have 179 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:20,040 some solos and before like the audition I kind of wanted to get a baby kangaroo and 180 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:27,120 but now that I got Jojo I am pretty excited still and I'm happy that I got it. 181 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:32,720 I didn't expect to get Gertrude during the audition I was just really happy to be part 182 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:38,040 of the show but I really like the character and the role and getting challenged myself 183 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:43,000 with singing and acting it's a really big and kind of scary responsibility but it's 184 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,540 also just an amazing experience as well. 185 00:12:46,540 --> 00:12:52,440 If I had to choose another character to play I would maybe want to be Maisie because I 186 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,040 really like the way Kylie does all her songs and she's like the polar opposite of Gertrude 187 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:03,880 because she's so flamboyant and loud and amazing um but it would be really fun to do that I'm 188 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:05,720 not sure if I could though. 189 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:12,000 Alright thank you so much for joining us today super excited to go see Susie and everyone 190 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,120 listening do go see Susie. 191 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,280 And with that last question for the cast members we'll end part one. 192 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:23,120 It's been a pleasure talking with some of the cast members for this year's musical. 193 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:28,520 I'm always amazed at how collectively talented our student body is and I have the privilege 194 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:33,340 of seeing them in action on opening night and with that we'll be right back after a 195 00:13:33,340 --> 00:13:34,800 short announcement. 196 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:39,520 One, two, three, four. 197 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,120 Hey this is Asia and I'm here to invite you to join us for ICS first ever Makers Faire. 198 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:48,800 We have an amazing roster of vendors who are ready to share their handmade items with you. 199 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,600 Our makers are from our very own ICS students, parents, and teachers. 200 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,800 We're going to have everything from tacos to baked goods, specialty gifts like candles, 201 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,480 bags, books, artwork, stickers, and more. 202 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:03,220 We will have live music and this is going to be the event of the year. 203 00:14:03,220 --> 00:14:07,720 Come shop with us on December 7th and 8th after school in the high school secondary 204 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,240 courtyard by the flag. 205 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:10,240 See you there. 206 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,640 By the way, Susical the Musical is coming out very soon Wednesday and Thursday the 22nd 207 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:15,640 and 23rd. 208 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:16,640 Don't forget to go see the show. 209 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,400 It's going to be great. 210 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,140 We are back with part two. 211 00:14:22,140 --> 00:14:26,240 For this segment we'll be talking with both the director and the choreographer of the 212 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:27,240 musical. 213 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,720 Both highly talented people who are able to pull off amazing productions each year. 214 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,080 Patience will get us started with our first question. 215 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,120 Let's start off with the casting process. 216 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,640 We want to know what the director's mindset is when it comes to casting. 217 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,520 What do you look for in the casting process, specifically for Susical? 218 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,240 Patience, thanks for your questions. 219 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,600 And I'm excited to once again be on the podcast talking about the musical. 220 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,560 Not just because I like musicals, but also because I like this podcast. 221 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,480 I think it's a great thing. 222 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:07,160 Casting is a large part for me about how easy people are to work with. 223 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:14,120 And that I would say plays as big of a role as their ability. 224 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:19,560 The way I kind of prioritize things for a musical specifically, so for Susical, right, 225 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,760 is number one is singing ability. 226 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,480 Can they sing? 227 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:30,280 Especially if you are actually, it doesn't matter if you're a lead or an ensemble. 228 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:31,280 Both have to be able to sing. 229 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:32,280 So that's the number one. 230 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,880 It's like, can they carry a tune and what's their tone like? 231 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,720 Part of that tone for Susical was also character singing. 232 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:44,600 Do I think that they can sing as a character and not just trying to sing pretty? 233 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:50,360 And second to the singing comes how easy are they to work with? 234 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:51,360 Are they directable? 235 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:52,360 Are they coachable? 236 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,360 Do they listen when I give them notes? 237 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,440 That's a big, big element that I really consider as I cast. 238 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:06,400 I've even rejected people in the past because I found them hard to work with because they 239 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:13,120 would resist direction or talk back if they were told in given notes, they would be like, 240 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:14,240 oh, I did that because of that. 241 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,800 It's like, well, right now we just need you to fix that thing. 242 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,600 We don't need to. 243 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:25,920 In short, is the person willing to work on things and willing to work hard to make things 244 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:26,920 good? 245 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:34,280 Is they just thinking that they're talented and can just do it, you know, without the 246 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:35,280 hard work put in? 247 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,280 I think that plays a big role in the casting process. 248 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,480 And then of course, there's roles that are very dance heavy, like the dance captain. 249 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:46,200 So for those, we look for dance specific skills. 250 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,860 But all in all, for a musical, everyone needs to be at least a minimum of each of those 251 00:16:51,860 --> 00:16:55,580 things to even have a chance to get it. 252 00:16:55,580 --> 00:17:00,960 So we reject about 50% of the people who audition. 253 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,320 And it's not that they were bad auditions. 254 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:05,320 Does that make sense? 255 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:07,640 Like it's not at all that they were bad auditions. 256 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,300 It's often that they were just a mark short on maybe one aspect. 257 00:17:12,300 --> 00:17:16,080 And the other person that did get the part was one mark higher on those things. 258 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,520 And so it gets very complicated. 259 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:22,160 So yeah, what do I look for? 260 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:30,920 Singing number one, attitude and workability, directability is number two, and dance is 261 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:31,920 number three. 262 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:33,760 You know, notice I haven't mentioned acting. 263 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,600 And that's because I believe I can teach anyone how to act. 264 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,040 I think we can get there. 265 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:41,600 That doesn't mean that you don't need to try. 266 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:46,740 And I feel like if you try hard, you've got the first ingredient at least to act. 267 00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:51,680 And then we can work with what we need to accordingly after that. 268 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,120 And now onto a question I'm sure many of us have. 269 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:56,800 Overall, how do you generally choose plays or musicals? 270 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,080 Why did you specifically choose musical? 271 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:00,520 There's a different process for both. 272 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,360 First of all, both of them go through the administration before they get approved. 273 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,040 So I will submit to Miss Amber, because she's my direct supervisor. 274 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:17,320 And if I can get her on board, she's my first kind of person, then I pretty much know if 275 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,840 she's excited about it, that she's going to bring it to the other administration in a 276 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:23,440 way that's excited. 277 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:28,080 So usually I'll discuss with her first, hey, here's what I'm thinking, rough idea. 278 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:29,280 And she'll go like, I like it. 279 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:30,280 Yeah, go for it. 280 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:34,760 And then I'll submit a proposal to her and that she brings to the administration. 281 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:36,560 So that's the first step. 282 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:38,500 And there's a difference between plays and musicals. 283 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:46,800 The plays I tend to do, I believe that theater should change people's perspective on things 284 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:51,760 and should not just make them be entertaining and entertained. 285 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,840 It should make them think about life or feel something about life. 286 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,140 It's an art form, right? 287 00:18:58,140 --> 00:19:00,200 It's not just supposed to be mindless entertainment. 288 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,660 If you want mindless entertainment, there's lots of that on YouTube. 289 00:19:04,660 --> 00:19:10,600 So when I choose a play, I usually pick something that's thought provoking and says things about 290 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:15,700 the world, about human beings, about religion, things like that. 291 00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:19,480 I want to get people thinking and people talking. 292 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:20,480 So that's my place. 293 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:26,600 And then secondly, the plays are related to whatever we're studying in class, in drama 294 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:27,600 class specifically. 295 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,520 So the theater arts class does most of these shows. 296 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,440 And so the theater arts class will be studying a specific thing. 297 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,080 For example, next semester we're studying Expressionism. 298 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:41,640 So we pick a play that relates well to that module of Expressionism. 299 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:47,760 Otherwise, what can end up happening is you just end up picking the same old kind of stories 300 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,520 and plot lines. 301 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:50,760 And there's not a lot of variation. 302 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:51,760 Whereas we want variation. 303 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,200 We want different styles. 304 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,420 We want different time periods. 305 00:19:55,420 --> 00:19:58,560 We want all those things. 306 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,720 For musicals, it's a little different. 307 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:09,700 Generally speaking, the musical has a younger people in it and therefore the content is 308 00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:11,500 going to be different, right? 309 00:20:11,500 --> 00:20:18,280 You can't easily do a very political play or musical with very young kids because they 310 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,200 don't really engage in politics yet. 311 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,600 Whereas with high schoolers, that's fine. 312 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:27,200 So the musical is more accessible to a larger group of people. 313 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:28,200 And we want that. 314 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,200 We want it to be accessible. 315 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:37,000 We have done musicals that are slightly more intense, but even that, I mean Oliver wasn't 316 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:38,760 that. 317 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,680 It's a little bit more mature, but kids can still watch it and love it. 318 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,760 My kids watched it and loved it. 319 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:48,560 Generally with the musicals, we want to go for something that people go to musicals also 320 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,700 just for the spectacle and the fun of it. 321 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:53,600 So it's a mix of that. 322 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:59,260 I usually try to pick a musical that has a really cool, good moral that everyone can 323 00:20:59,260 --> 00:21:00,800 relate to. 324 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,020 Everyone. 325 00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:06,840 So even if you're doing Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is technically a story from 326 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:12,080 the Bible, it has relatable morals that everyone likes. 327 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,320 Nobody likes to get betrayed by their siblings. 328 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,880 Everyone loves forgiveness and being forgiven. 329 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:20,880 Those kind of things. 330 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:21,880 Those are general morals. 331 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:26,760 So I try to pick ones with that, good moral and good storyline. 332 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:36,340 I really want a good story that makes sense and is fun to watch it as it unfolds. 333 00:21:36,340 --> 00:21:40,920 And for Susicles specifically, this is kind of leading into the third thing I do with 334 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:41,920 musicals. 335 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,220 I search for musicals that have strong ensemble pieces. 336 00:21:45,220 --> 00:21:47,220 I like ensemble. 337 00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:50,720 I like big groups doing something well. 338 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:55,300 I feel that musicals with strong ensemble are the best musicals. 339 00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:59,720 I feel like when you rely only on your leads, it's just not as fun. 340 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,240 Not that the leads can't be great. 341 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,660 There's great musicals that are very lead heavy, right? 342 00:22:04,660 --> 00:22:07,520 It's just a few people singing solos and duets and stuff. 343 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:12,200 Those are great, but there's that energy that comes to the stage when you have the entire 344 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:19,560 ensemble on and that energy is just, it's electrical and it's infectious. 345 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:27,040 The audience feels that excitement when there's so many people all forming at a high level. 346 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:28,860 So that's why I chose Susicle. 347 00:22:28,860 --> 00:22:29,960 It's a very good ensemble play. 348 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,240 It has lots of fun ensemble bits. 349 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:37,160 Lots of people are changing backstage within the few minutes, you know, into the next costume 350 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,000 to do the next bit. 351 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,440 And Susicle is, it's got a good moral. 352 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:50,680 It's got great ensemble parts and it's got a lot of fun elements to it. 353 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:56,280 So that's why I chose Susicle and that's generally how I do plays and musicals. 354 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:57,280 Okay. 355 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:02,840 Now, onto this set building and some representation from our techies, can you tell us about the 356 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:07,280 technical side of Susicle and how long it took to create that beautiful set? 357 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:08,880 Too long. 358 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:15,120 No, the set is, we've had a really great group of tech on this set. 359 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,840 So we've been able to do a lot with these guys. 360 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,240 We had four backdrops. 361 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,800 Those are 15 meters by five meters. 362 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,480 So they're huge. 363 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:33,720 We have, we've done a lot of flats for this set specifically. 364 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:38,920 Flats are basically wooden frames that are a little bit two dimensional looking. 365 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:44,240 And we did it on purpose because we're going for a bookish slash cartoony look, a little 366 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:45,560 bit like the drawings of Sus. 367 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,400 So we're literally taking inspiration from the books itself. 368 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:54,760 We have a bunch of flats, a lot, and each one has to be constructed, painted, put on 369 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,240 wheels, a tetra. 370 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,040 We have so many lights. 371 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:03,040 This show, we also have a moving light, which we got new. 372 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:04,040 That takes hours. 373 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:08,560 So for lighting, a fun fact is for lighting and sound, it's actually a lot of one-to-one 374 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:09,560 training. 375 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:14,280 So whoever's on lights and sound, they are with me and Mr. Micah, just the two of us, 376 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,280 like one-to-one, a lot of coaching. 377 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,760 It takes hours to learn lighting. 378 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:23,200 So to just learn it takes hours and to set up every single light cue. 379 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:28,080 Like one song can have five to 10 lighting cues. 380 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,800 That's one song, you're switching lights all the time. 381 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,200 So there are 50 something lights up there. 382 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,960 Every single light has to be told what to do for every single cue. 383 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:44,900 So if you're saying one song with five cues, that's 50 lights times five that you are telling 384 00:24:44,900 --> 00:24:48,560 what to do on or off every single light. 385 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:54,000 That's 250 different parameters that you are tweaking for every single time you're doing 386 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:55,000 lights. 387 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,000 It's a lot of work. 388 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,000 How did we create it? 389 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,040 Sweat, blood and tears as we go. 390 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,440 So what we do is we do a initial design phase where we think of all these things. 391 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,940 That's mostly the stage managers, assistant stage managers and advanced techies that start 392 00:25:09,940 --> 00:25:11,120 to do that. 393 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:16,900 Then as that happens, it kind of filters through me who takes the creative side of like, okay, 394 00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:21,040 what are we keeping, what are we getting rid of, what else do we need? 395 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:27,080 And we bring all that together and then we explain that in like baby steps to the beginner 396 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:34,040 techies who then start to execute that with the advanced techies together. 397 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,340 This set is very technical. 398 00:25:36,340 --> 00:25:39,520 We have people flying into the air. 399 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:45,160 Yeah, a lot of things moving on and off from both sides of the stage. 400 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,680 We have the four backdrops coming up and down. 401 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,400 Yeah, it's a lot. 402 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:50,400 It's a lot. 403 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,520 I mean, I could go on about this for hours. 404 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:54,520 How long does it take? 405 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,720 It's taken us since August till now. 406 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:57,720 We're still busy. 407 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,160 We'll probably be done next week-ish. 408 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:01,160 It's crazy. 409 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:05,360 Was there an overall vision and inspiration for the entire production? 410 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:09,560 Are there any hints you want to clue us in for the next year's show? 411 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:11,720 For next year's show? 412 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:12,720 Next year's show, no. 413 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:13,720 No hints. 414 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:19,080 I have an idea or two or three, but I'm not going to divulge any of those. 415 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,760 Overall vision and inspiration for the entire production. 416 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:26,760 For Seuss, we are going for the idea of page to stage. 417 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,800 So everything looks like the Seuss books. 418 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:31,600 It looks like that on purpose. 419 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,200 It wasn't because it makes it easier for us. 420 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:40,320 Actually copying his style has had a lot of challenges and doing things in two dimensions 421 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,860 rather than three is also a lot of challenges because it means that if you have a tree, 422 00:26:44,860 --> 00:26:49,960 you can't just, you know, buy a tree prop like because we have four tree props and wheel 423 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:51,200 them on and off stage. 424 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:52,200 There you go. 425 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:53,200 Done, right? 426 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:59,960 We have to make every single tree either painted by hand on the backdrop or cut out of wood 427 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:01,320 and then painted. 428 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:06,200 So that is the overall vision is this page to stage. 429 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,160 We use lighting a lot in this performance to draw the audience's attention to specific 430 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:15,320 parts of the stage because the musical is very busy. 431 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:22,240 So we want to focus your attention on specific things as we go along. 432 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:29,680 So that is the overall vision and inspirations I've had from this. 433 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:34,200 Definitely I got inspired by Life of Pi because there was some projection in this production 434 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:40,200 and Life of Pi when I watched it on Broadway had a bunch of projection as well. 435 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,680 So yeah, definitely there are other inspirations and influences coming along as well. 436 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:50,200 But the main inspiration and vision is from Dobs or Seuss and then we bring that into 437 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:51,480 the stage. 438 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:57,280 And now our final question for this segment is about the process as a whole and all its 439 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:58,280 parts. 440 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:03,240 Can you describe what it's like getting a show ready, casting, rehearsals, stage production 441 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,560 and all the time it takes to be ready for opening night? 442 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,120 And how do you balance that? 443 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:11,480 That is a very complex question. 444 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:16,880 In the casting process, it's a lot of hard decisions because you're dealing with people's 445 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:22,600 feelings and you know that they might be sad that they didn't get in the show. 446 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,560 And sometimes it's a matter of you look at the student and you think, oh, they have too 447 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,200 many things going on. 448 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,600 They are in a sport and another sport and then they're also trying to do the production. 449 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:36,040 They're going to be too busy, right? 450 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,360 Usually you can only manage one sport alongside the production. 451 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,000 So that's part of it as well. 452 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:48,720 And then also just hard choices of like, you know, some people they audition multiple times 453 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:56,000 and you're like, you know, you feel bad, but you sometimes do have to still reject. 454 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:01,000 Sometimes it's maturity, sometimes it's they struggled with the audition itself. 455 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,240 So yeah, that's casting. 456 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:09,620 And then with casting, when it gets to the people who are in it, it's a lot about chemistry. 457 00:29:09,620 --> 00:29:13,280 Who works well with who? 458 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:20,240 Are their height differences correct for the character or characters? 459 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:21,640 What's their vocal range? 460 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,160 All those things play a role in casting. 461 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,920 The casting takes about two weeks. 462 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:28,320 So you could say that's very fast. 463 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:33,160 The rehearsal process, I plan all the rehearsals months in advance. 464 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:38,720 I plan out what we're rehearsing and when we're rehearsing it and how do we get through 465 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,920 the entire show through rehearsals. 466 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:47,760 The rehearsal phase roughly goes in from singing to dancing to blocking. 467 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:52,640 Blocking is where the actors are standing and moving and how they're moving from place 468 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,900 to place as the show goes on. 469 00:29:55,900 --> 00:29:58,080 So it roughly goes into those sections. 470 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,580 There is a little overlap between dance and blocking for sure. 471 00:30:02,580 --> 00:30:09,000 The rehearsal process takes weeks and then the stage production time also takes weeks. 472 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:14,040 So my stage manager started working before summer and got homework over summer to do 473 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:15,240 and they did that homework. 474 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:20,280 And then when we came back from summer, we executed the ideas from that homework. 475 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,320 It's actually very hard to balance. 476 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:30,760 Technically, I am fired to be the teacher of the theater arts class, of technical theater 477 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:32,160 classes. 478 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,440 And then I help Mr. Micah with overseeing the pack. 479 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:44,200 Mr. Micah's job is to ensure everything runs smoothly for the pack and that's all events. 480 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:50,320 And for me, it's more of a, what I help out with is more of a, the physical aspect of 481 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:57,000 the building because Mr. Micah is one person and this building is gigantic and it has all 482 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:58,700 sorts of wear and tear. 483 00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:01,040 So I help him to flag those problems up. 484 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:07,360 I help him to keep everything clean and organized. 485 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:14,400 And so on top of that, actually those are two jobs essentially that I do. 486 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:20,320 On top of those two jobs is another job which is directing a musical, which is a huge job. 487 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,020 Actually that's a job in itself. 488 00:31:22,020 --> 00:31:30,880 There are many places in the world that hire a person exclusively for just directing after 489 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:32,300 school shows. 490 00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:33,640 That's all they do. 491 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,240 I do that on top of my other job. 492 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:36,240 So how do you balance it? 493 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:37,800 We don't. 494 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,080 You try your best. 495 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:45,280 You have to realize it's a season and when the season is over, things calm down and become 496 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,880 more sensical. 497 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:52,940 I am very, very organized and I am very planned in how I approach things. 498 00:31:52,940 --> 00:31:55,320 I don't procrastinate. 499 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:56,680 I just do it. 500 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:58,920 I make a list and do it. 501 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,200 And the third thing is I prioritize. 502 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:06,640 By prioritizing correctly, I can achieve what I want to achieve. 503 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,880 If I don't prioritize correctly, things slip. 504 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,840 And they do. 505 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:16,920 And thankfully, Miss Amber, when it's little things leading up to the production, she's 506 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,120 very understanding about it. 507 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,920 She knows that things get busy and she knows that certain things will be harder for me 508 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:25,920 to do in those time periods. 509 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,520 And so as my boss, she plans accordingly as well. 510 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:38,080 She's like, okay, this is the month of the musical for Mr. G. I will give him an extension 511 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,240 on this thing that I might need or he needs to do. 512 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:42,240 And so you juggle. 513 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,160 You're juggling different priorities as you go. 514 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:46,920 And that's the long and short of it. 515 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,200 That's how you balance it. 516 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,000 You prioritize and reprioritize and reprioritize as you go. 517 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,520 When I say it like that, it sounds a lot less fun than it is. 518 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,200 It actually is very fun. 519 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:00,200 But it's hard. 520 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:01,200 It's hard fun. 521 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,200 Hi, Mrs. Liz. 522 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:05,960 Thank you so much for joining us today. 523 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,120 Could you please introduce yourself and what you do here at ICS? 524 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:10,120 Let's get us started. 525 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,120 Yeah, great. 526 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,560 So my name is Miss Liz, as he said. 527 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,960 My main job here at ICS is the head of admissions. 528 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,600 So I've met a lot of students that way. 529 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:23,160 And then with that, kind of on the side or for fun, I choreograph our musicals. 530 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,980 So yes, I've been doing that since my first year here in 2016 every year. 531 00:33:27,980 --> 00:33:31,920 Is dance and choreography something you've always been interested in? 532 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,760 Yeah, so I was that kid that got to annoy their parents all the time by coming up with 533 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,700 different dances and shows and making them watch them or having friends over and coming 534 00:33:40,700 --> 00:33:45,560 up with different dances and performing for our parents all the time. 535 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,400 And then, yeah, as I got older, I took some dance classes. 536 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,560 And every chance I got, I joined dance teams, cheerleading show choirs, choirs, and any 537 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,840 musical I could find. 538 00:33:54,840 --> 00:34:00,760 What's the process you use to come up with new choreographer for our shows? 539 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:04,640 Is that something you work on during school breaks or the summer months too? 540 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,680 Yeah, so depending on what semester we're doing the show, I'll use the break preceding 541 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,200 them to kind of come up with the bulk of the choreography. 542 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,320 So the second semester show, Christmas break, or first semester, I'll use a lot of the 543 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,880 summer months where I am still working, but it's slower because there's not students 544 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:20,160 here. 545 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:25,520 As far as the process goes, as soon as Mr. G decides the show, I start listening to the 546 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:29,560 soundtrack on repeat, much to the annoyance of probably my entire family. 547 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:34,160 But as I become more familiar with those songs, I can kind of start to visualize different 548 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:39,200 things in my head, some images, maybe some specific dance moves there. 549 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,640 And so those start to kind of form in my mind. 550 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:45,840 And then next to see if that movement I'm seeing helps tell the story and helps inform 551 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:47,300 the characters. 552 00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:50,440 And then it comes down to actually trying out those different moves and writing it all 553 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:51,440 down. 554 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,800 So these shows are huge, you know, often they're two hours, lots of different songs. 555 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,880 So I have to take lots of notes or I will forget my own choreography then when it comes 556 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,080 time for rehearsals to teach it. 557 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:06,200 Yeah, so a follow up question with that is like, where to get your inspiration from when 558 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:07,840 you come up with all these dances? 559 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:12,900 Yeah, so I really, the thing I love about musical theater is telling a story. 560 00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:17,000 So you really want the choreography to inform that story and be a part of it. 561 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,080 So the first thing is those images, right? 562 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:23,240 So seeing something that's going to add to the story, whether it's how I have everyone 563 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:27,600 standing maybe the shape of the stage or how they're moving in that. 564 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:29,600 And also the specific moves as well. 565 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:34,480 So you know, in Susical, we have a lyric trip on a ship and it's a salute and things like 566 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,040 that. 567 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:39,780 And then also kind of how the movement helps inform the characters. 568 00:35:39,780 --> 00:35:41,760 So sometimes that involves a repetitive movement. 569 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:46,400 So if you've ever watched Hamilton, when they do my shot, it's very similar choreography 570 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:47,560 every time. 571 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:49,420 And so that helps to inform that movement. 572 00:35:49,420 --> 00:35:54,040 So on a not Broadway scale here, when you watch Susical doing, oh, the things you can 573 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:58,700 think, it's a very similar movement every time we're singing that line, right? 574 00:35:58,700 --> 00:36:00,240 And the next is also the character development. 575 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,160 So how do those characters move and how does that inform that? 576 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:07,920 So if you watch Shrek, the do locking is moved in a very set motion. 577 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,200 And Susical is the same for the Hoos and also our jungle creatures. 578 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:16,240 So wanting the dance to help tell that story and help the actors become that character 579 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:17,600 on stage as well. 580 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:18,600 Yeah, for sure. 581 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:23,160 I think with like a lot of this, I'm starting to realize because I like to write a lot too. 582 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,200 And for me, writing is like the way to tell a story, like that story telling to me. 583 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:30,340 And now I'm realizing, I think like last week, I talked to someone who was a dance 584 00:36:30,340 --> 00:36:35,960 major and she said that like to her dancing is telling a story, but just like another 585 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,680 maybe a different form and different medium of telling a story. 586 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:40,400 And I thought that was really powerful. 587 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:45,880 I think I do think that like many creatives or like creative areas are all about telling 588 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,960 the story, developing the pod, the characters. 589 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:52,040 Yeah, yeah, especially through anything music, right? 590 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,080 Through vocals as well, it's telling a story. 591 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:58,400 And so the joy to me, musical theater is you're bringing so much of that together, right? 592 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:02,040 You're singing, you're acting, you're dancing all for the point of telling that story. 593 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:03,680 And music touches people's soul differently. 594 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:04,680 It does. 595 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:05,680 It's really dark. 596 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:06,680 Yeah. 597 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,720 So being able to kind of bring that together and really bring that point home, whatever 598 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:11,840 it may be of the show, it's really cool. 599 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:12,960 That's really cool. 600 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:17,840 What's the process look for you when you have to put together a dance team for the show? 601 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,280 Yeah, so the specific dance team is a little bit new to ICS. 602 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,520 So I've done it in the past in other schools I worked at. 603 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,500 And back in the US, I choreographed for a lot of high schools and community theaters 604 00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:27,880 and show choirs. 605 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,320 So it's a bit new for us, I think. 606 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:35,240 In Joseph, it was a dance heavy show and we had that a little bit with specific songs, 607 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:39,380 like if you saw and there was the hoedown, that was all country western and insane. 608 00:37:39,380 --> 00:37:42,960 And then in Shrek, we also had some crazy dance breaks with this whole morning person. 609 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,640 It was 40 sets of eight, which is huge for your dancer. 610 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:48,600 And then we were continuing that with Suzakul. 611 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,500 So that starts to come together in the audition process. 612 00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:55,200 So we always have dance captains here at ICS. 613 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:56,800 So they are, of course, part of the dance team. 614 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:58,260 They are dance leaders. 615 00:37:58,260 --> 00:38:02,140 So figuring out who that is, based on technical talent, right? 616 00:38:02,140 --> 00:38:03,140 Can they dance? 617 00:38:03,140 --> 00:38:04,140 Can they hit the moves? 618 00:38:04,140 --> 00:38:08,440 But also leadership qualities, because then they are expected to be me when I can't be 619 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:14,200 there or to take over for a rehearsal or if we separate groups, they're expected to lead 620 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:15,200 that. 621 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:19,200 So then after we find the captains, it's kind of looking through the audition process. 622 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,800 So looking at scores and comments from those sheets. 623 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:27,320 And if people have been in past shows, kind of seeing the development there as well. 624 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,200 So and then kind of trying to put together a team that can work together and kind of 625 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:36,720 sell these big crazy numbers that can act while they're dancing is a whole process 626 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:37,880 as well. 627 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:42,000 And just to add with that, I think a big part of the dance team is also the acting skills, 628 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:43,000 right? 629 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,760 So I tell this to the cast all the time, patience is hard, multiple, it's not always about the 630 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:48,200 technical step. 631 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:53,100 You can miss the step, but the beautiful thing in musical theater is if you can be that character, 632 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:54,580 you don't always notice it, right? 633 00:38:54,580 --> 00:38:59,720 So it's again, telling that story is also even a big part of the dance team. 634 00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:05,480 Yes, it must be like very stressful also, like trying to like come up with the dance 635 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:09,040 moves that also teach it to them specifically so that they understand and then they can 636 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:11,000 kind of teach us as well. 637 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,560 So very talented. 638 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:14,840 I can do that. 639 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:20,280 So our last question, can you describe what it's like getting ready for a show or getting 640 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:26,120 a like the show ready and like with the casting from the beginning to the end casting, rehearsal, 641 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,640 stage production, and the time it takes to be ready for opening night? 642 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:31,480 And how do you how do you balance that? 643 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:32,480 Yeah, yeah. 644 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,240 So it is it's a long process, right? 645 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:38,680 So a lot of people kind of try to compare musical theater with athletics. 646 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:42,040 And there are a lot of similarities with teamwork and working together. 647 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:45,480 But one of the big difference is, you know, I've done sports and you're on a team and 648 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:49,880 you practice together and you have many games throughout the season and things change. 649 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:53,840 Well, with musical theater, we have four months leading up to two nights. 650 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:54,840 And that's it. 651 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,440 You get two nights that you're pouring everything into. 652 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:01,640 So a lot of work goes into that and you want to make sure you hit those two nights because 653 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:02,640 that's all you get. 654 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,120 That's your only chance. 655 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:08,720 So yeah, it starts with auditions, which that process in itself takes to about a week or 656 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:13,840 two, depending on the show, a lot, you know, a lot on Mr. G. But he also discusses with, 657 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:17,200 you know, me, Miss Amy, Mr. Micah as well with into that. 658 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:18,800 And then we start our rehearsals. 659 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,000 So rehearsals start kind of broken down by scenes and songs. 660 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:27,080 So for me, it's doing dance boot camps and then breaking down the dance rehearsals for 661 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:30,520 our full cast numbers, typically first because they're the most difficult. 662 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,560 And you have 50 people on stage and you're trying to figure out how you can dance without 663 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,520 hitting each other, which is always an adventure. 664 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:40,360 But I do just applaud Mr. G for his rehearsal schedule. 665 00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:45,960 It is in most schools I've been in, you're rehearsing every day for five hours a day. 666 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:50,440 And so he has really made it much more efficient where I think it's great that students can 667 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:52,320 do multiple things now, right? 668 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,360 Whereas in other schools, that's not possible. 669 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:58,440 So having that really efficient schedule and expecting that our students are going to practice 670 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,880 at home, that is a big expectation. 671 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:04,440 So those rehearsals start and then we start to get into where we are now for Susie Cole, 672 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,680 where we're doing runs and we're going through. 673 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:11,320 So those are a little more upbeat, a little more crazy rehearsals as we get into that 674 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:12,760 with everyone. 675 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:14,560 And there is a big technical side to it. 676 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:18,400 You have all that side that I'm not as involved in, but Mr. G and Mr. Micah are building sets. 677 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,680 They're doing lighting, sound technique, all of that as well. 678 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:23,920 And then I also help with costumes and makeup a bit. 679 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,540 So that's what we're into now is finalizing costumes and we'll start getting the makeup 680 00:41:27,540 --> 00:41:29,040 ready here soon. 681 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:33,760 And so that all leads us to those big two nights that are long days as patients well 682 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:34,760 knows as well. 683 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:35,760 Oh, testify. 684 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:36,760 Yes, yes. 685 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:40,680 A lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement leading up to that. 686 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,360 So the balance is a little bit crazy. 687 00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:47,520 So of course I have a full time job as the head of admissions here. 688 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,360 So I do that during the school day. 689 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,000 And then rehearsals are typically after school. 690 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,320 And then I also have three kids and a husband at home. 691 00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:00,420 So time management, like I think teachers talk about all the time, really is a good 692 00:42:00,420 --> 00:42:03,400 life skill because also rest is important, right? 693 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:05,440 So without rest, we get sick and nothing works. 694 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:10,000 And so I think for me, that has been really helpful is just honestly blocking out that 695 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:14,240 time of this is, this is family time and nothing else is going to happen here, right? 696 00:42:14,240 --> 00:42:18,080 And then this is musical time and this is work time and this is sleep time and I'm 697 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,280 going to go to bed at this time. 698 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:25,080 So finding that balance, which luckily, since I've done this now for almost 20 years is 699 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:28,760 really, I've really been able to find where that fits best. 700 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:31,000 And for me, I love my job as head admissions. 701 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,040 I love being the choreographer and it's two very different parts of my brain. 702 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:39,760 So it is fun to be able to swap back and forth and use both of those sides still. 703 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:40,760 Yeah. 704 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:45,500 So there's like a lot of flexibility and adaptability, not only that, but it takes so much patience 705 00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:47,520 to worship everybody. 706 00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:48,520 Yes. 707 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:51,280 Well, this is the end of our interview. 708 00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:56,040 Thank you so much for your dedication and your time and putting together dances for 709 00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:57,800 the musical. 710 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,200 We all appreciate it very much. 711 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:06,560 I hope that the audience recognizes our hard work and the time put into this for everybody 712 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:07,560 to watch. 713 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:08,560 Thank you so much. 714 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:09,560 Thank you. 715 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:11,920 Thanks for having me. 716 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,800 And with that ending question, we have run out of time. 717 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,120 I hope you're able to get a glimpse of the amount of planning and work that goes into 718 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:23,600 producing a live theater event like Susical the musical. 719 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:25,440 Opening night is right around the corner. 720 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,480 So I hope you have your tickets. 721 00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:38,440 Maybe I'll see you there. 722 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:42,640 As we end this episode, I just want to say thanks for tuning into our show and supporting 723 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:44,040 what we are doing. 724 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:45,680 We really appreciate it. 725 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:50,280 Our next episode will feature an alumni of ICS who is currently doing his master's in 726 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:56,520 the cinematic arts film and television production program at the University of Southern California, 727 00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:57,760 USC. 728 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:02,540 As always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international 729 00:44:02,540 --> 00:44:04,480 student production team. 730 00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:10,200 All music and sound effects are courtesy of pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives 731 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,080 sharing copyright free images, videos, and music. 732 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:16,480 And we are signing off until next time. 733 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:45,240 Be your students incorporated because your voice matters.