Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host, Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun, and uplifting.
This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International Community School of Bangkok.
In today's episode, we have a privilege to sit down and talk with the cast and crew of the upcoming musical play, Aladdin, along with the director, Mr. Gersom.
They have been working hard for the past several months in preparation for opening night on November 26th, less than a week away.
ICS has a great tradition of teaching and engaging students in the arts, and specifically drama and musicals.
So stick around and get a behind the scenes look into the upcoming musical, Aladdin.
Oh, and before I forget, today's episode is sponsored by the Dance Club.
The Dance Club wants to create a safe space for K-pop and hip-hop dancers to share and express their passion creatively.
They also aim to introduce dancing to more people in the ICS community.
So thank you to the ICS Dance Club for your sponsorship.
Now moving on, let's hear our quote of the day and get some headline news.
Our quote of the day comes from Mother Graham, an American modern dancer.
She's quoted to have said,
Theatre is a verb before it's a noun, an act before it's a place. Theatre is an active, expressive process before it's a place.
It's about shared experience and connection rather than physical structures.
Theatre's essence lies in performance and interaction, rooted in its story-tellings and gatherings.
Ultimately, it's a dynamic act that brings stories to life, transcending formal boundaries.
And that's our quote of the day. Now onto some headline movie news with Mia and Mr. Jason.
Thank you for our quote of the day.
Because we are on the theme of theatre and entertainment, we thought we'd share the list of the top 5 biggest money-making films so far.
And according to Entertainment Weekly and IMDB, there's one director who directed 3 of the top 5 films.
I guess if you want to make money with one of your films, you should hire this guy.
Okay, here's our list of the top 5 biggest money-making films of all time.
So Mr. Jason, start us off with number 5.
Coming in at 5th place is Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac.
As a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace.
This film has grossed over 2.07 billion US dollars since its release in 2015.
Okay, Mia, what's next?
Coming in 4th is Titanic, directed by James Cameron, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Billy Zane.
A 17-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist abroad, the luxurious ill-fated RMS Titanic.
And well, we all know what happened to the Titanic.
This film has grossed over 2.2 billion US dollars since its release in 1997.
Moving on to 3rd place now.
Coming in 3rd is Avatar, The Way of Water, directed by James Cameron again, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Zeldana, and Sigourney Weaver.
Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora.
Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started,
Jake must work with Natira and the Army of the Navi race to protect their home.
This film has grossed over 2.3 billion US dollars since its release in 2022.
Another film by James Cameron.
Okay, moving on, what is our 2nd place film?
Coming in 2nd is Avengers, in-game by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo,
starring a slew of stars including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Zoe Zeldana.
Fun fact, Zoe Zeldana has been involved in 3 of the top 5 as well.
After the devastating events of Avengers Infinity War, the universe is in ruins.
With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.
This film has grossed nearly 2.8 billion US dollars since its release in 2019.
And here's another fun fact.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the first film franchise in history to cross over 33 billion US dollars.
This franchise has made more money than any other franchise in history, beating out Call of Duty, Batman, and Hello Kitty.
And last but not least, moving on to the highest grossing film of all time.
And finally, coming in 1st place as the biggest money-making film of all time is Avatar,
directed by the one and only James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Zeldana, and Sigourney Weaver.
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
This film has grossed over 2.9 billion US dollars since its release in 2009.
And there you have it, the biggest money-making films of all time.
And that ends our entertainment news for this episode.
Now moving on to our first segment, we welcome Mr. Gersom, the director of the upcoming musical Aladdin here at ICS.
I'm also joined in this episode by co-host Mia Antoto.
We'll jump right into our question today with Mia.
All right. Hi, Mr. G. How are you doing today?
Good, how are you?
All right. So it's a pleasure to have you here in the studio with us. So let's get started, shall we?
OK, our first question is, what inspired you to choose Aladdin for this production?
And what unique vision are you bringing to this version?
I've always wanted to do Aladdin. I have a bucket list of shows.
Oh, no way.
So it's very long. And I basically choose from that bucket list.
In recent years, what we did when we did Joseph, it was like, I don't want to do a desert theme show again.
It's boring. So I kind of dropped it lower on the list.
And then eventually last year, I went through seven musical options listening to seven different musicals.
And all of them were not good.
Or a big thing for me is like how many parts are available, right?
Because schools is not about like, you know, having a few leads who are amazing.
It's actually about providing opportunities for as many people as possible.
And yeah, so then I went through seven different ones and it was like so lead heavy or always duets and no group songs.
So eventually I was like, OK, let's see if Aladdin has enough group songs because it still is quite lead heavy ish.
But it had, you know, way more group songs than let's say like Anastasia, for example, which had like like two.
So then I was like, OK, cool. Nice.
It's still it was on my list for like a possibility.
And now it's like confirmed in terms of use.
So Unique Vision, it's really hard because it's Disney.
So people have expectations.
This is what I hate about Disney shows because people have expectations.
Like, for example, I bought Jasmine a really nice red outfit first because I was like, oh, cool.
I want Jasmine in red. Why not?
And everyone's complaining like the cast.
But she's supposed to be a cyan.
And I was like, that's not even who says cyan, you know?
But but but anyway, and then other people said she's supposed to be in blue.
And I was like, yeah, but we're doing our own show.
Like what? Well, the genies blue.
I'm like, yeah, that's because genies are blue.
Like like the mythology, they're always blue anyway.
So I would say vision wise, I think the main thing I can't do much.
Let's put it that way in terms of changing things.
But the main thing that I like about our take on it as ICS is we build everything ourselves and students are building almost everything.
Like there's very few things that mean that's helped with mostly safety stuff.
But like the actual aesthetic, it's like all student built.
And so we're basically we're basically trying to build a mini, you know, like mud and mud and wood housing.
You know, that's kind of what we did.
And I would say that's that's what makes this show unique and fun is like we're not being like, oh, let's just get some rando professional carpenter to build everything.
No, it's like everything student produced.
And that makes it have a unique charm.
Like it's like it's a little bit rickety charm that I feel like ICS always has.
All right. Thank you for your perspective.
And speaking of actually, have you heard of this new movie coming out?
It's called Wicked.
Have you heard of it?
Yeah.
So how was kind of a Broadway show and now they've turned it into a movie with Ariana Grande and Cynthia.
So, yeah.
So on that note, could you walk us through the process of adapting the story to our particular context?
And were there any key themes that you wanted to highlight in Aladdin?
So Disney is really strict about this as well.
So basically, I'm contractually obliged to not change anything at all from the script.
So basically, in terms of like highlighting things now, I mean, the story is already super wholesome.
You know, it's about changing the patriarchy to be more, you know, allow women to have a voice in their own marriage, things like that.
So those are just nice things in general.
So I wouldn't say there's a particular theme that we're highlighting or changing.
I would say that, yeah, it's pretty much it's the biggest change in the show is that there's no monkey and there's no tiger.
Instead, it's three best friends for both of them.
And funnily enough, the best friends, they both have the nice songs, like with the songs the girls sing with Jasmine, it's one of the most beautiful songs.
And the songs the boys sing with Aladdin are the funniest.
So I would say that's the biggest change they made in terms of adapting into Broadway.
And it has a very, the cartoon is quite thrilling.
And I would say the Broadway version is a little bit more pantomimey, a little bit more over the top and ridiculous.
And I think they did that because you can't translate certain things to the stage without it looking cheesy.
So they're like, let's just embrace the cheesiness.
And there's a lot of cheesy lines and little things.
But again, it kind of makes it like, I get cute, it's wholesome.
It's very, so I would say that's what I haven't adapted that.
Disney adapted it for the Broadway stage.
So it has all that energy and character, you know, for the genie.
But think of it, it's like it's a little more almost genie and comedy heavy.
Like it's got more comedy inside than the cartoon.
The cartoon actually has quite a lot of serious moments here.
You know, you have like three, like three key ones, right?
Like it's Aladdin feeling bad about himself and then Jasmine's turmoil.
And then the ending, right?
When Jafar tries to take over, those are the three key moments.
Whereas in the cartoon, I feel like there's a lot of moments where you kind of, it calms down a bit.
You know, you get more serious.
This one's a lot more, yeah, woo, pizazz.
It's like a lot of showbiz moments in this one.
Yeah.
So I guess my next question would be like, what specific challenges have you faced during production?
Yeah, there's a lot of magic tricks that are hard to pull off.
I've never done them before.
And so it takes practice to get it right.
So it's tech heavy in that sense.
That's been a challenge.
And another challenge has been fitting all those tricks backstage in terms of like wit, you know,
like one of our transitions is from outside the cave to inside the cave.
And it's 10 seconds.
That's all the time we have.
So I feel like these are the biggest challenges.
Acting wise, it's a junior show.
So like it's challenging in the sense that every role is challenging.
But I feel like they were already up for that.
Like they're already good, right?
They were already good enough to do this.
And so it's more about fine tuning in terms of like the actors and the ensemble.
Same thing.
Like, you know, the younger ones need a little more support, which you probably remember as well in terms of like knowing what show business is and how it works.
But that's normal.
That's nothing they can't overcome.
And that's at this point something they've already overcome.
Right.
So I feel acting wise, it was very low challenges.
And it's like it's not easy.
It's not crazy difficult.
But there's a lot of the, you know, basics that we have to re go over every year.
But tech wise, I think it's been the most challenging in terms of like pulling off those weird stunts.
How do we? Oh, wait.
Aladdin has to like roll into a like a cave opening or like jump into a cave.
Like, how are we going to do that?
Like, how are we going to do that without injuring him?
Or how are we going to get all these things on in 10 seconds?
Things like that.
A lot of puzzle pieces.
All right.
I think definitely those are quite big challenges to face, especially since you are the director and everything kind of has to go through you before it actually makes it to the stage.
So, yeah, in terms of like cast and crew, how how do you say you maintain clear and effective communication between the cast and crew throughout rehearsals and then production as well?
This is where I have to shout out my assistant directors and stage managers and assistant stage manager.
They are really good at that. So, for example, assistant directors, Julius Miranda.
Julius is also the genie.
So, you know, she's got crazy high workload and Miranda's actually, yeah.
So they're both leads and they're also assistant directing, which is just like insane level of work.
And then you got Noah, who's also stage manager.
So you have a lot of these people that are kind of stepping their feet in two different pounds at the same time.
Right. Like they're they're they're completely enmeshed in all these things.
And that's why they're really amazing at doing that.
So we have like a line group for the directors and we have a line group for the stage managers, which the directors are also in just to like read it.
And occasionally they reply to. And we basically try we get we get to a certain point where the stage managers will say, OK, Mr.
G is at his threshold of question of stupid questions he can answer.
Right. Like some questions are gray. Like, Mr. G, this is really hard.
How do we figure this out? OK, I can.
I'm supposed to help with that. But some of it's like, I don't know where my shirt is.
Where did you put it? You know what I mean? So so what they'll do is they'll see that point coming because they've usually worked with me before.
And they're like, OK, all right. We know this. The directors are going to fend off all costume questions.
So they'll I'll just say, don't ask me. Go ask them.
And if I get someone coming, I'm just go ask Miranda. And then she's like, you know, she takes the question.
And so that's one way we organize it.
As stage managers, they have a list with all. So there's there's five total.
Right. Noah's not the stage managing much on the day itself because he's acting.
But like he helps to keep track of that list.
And then you have Alyssa and Miriam who are like on top of everything backstage.
So they keep this list going of like everything that needs to happen. What percentage is it at?
Is it finished? Is it almost finished? What are we waiting on something?
And so they can filter all these questions from like general tech stuff like, oh, where's this thing?
Oh, it's here. You know, and basically what that makes is that the students have more agency and power to change things.
And if they if it's a question they have to ask me, then they can go.
They'll just write it down for later. Or if you like, if it's not a good time or they'll just say, OK, Mr.
G, we need to know about this thing specifically.
OK. And then I'm like, oh, to make it blue. Whatever.
So by dividing it in that way, it stays organized and we can keep track of everything roughly, including people missing sure.
But it's really them who help support that.
And that's I would say something that's very different.
I mean, there's a few schools I've heard of that that run things like this.
We give a lot of power to student leadership in this sense, which is great.
I mean, it's like really, really working. Right.
And when you actually start to work, you have to do your job or you get fired. So
and they've been doing that a ton.
So that's I think that's how we keep it. And it's been awesome.
I mean, I guess that's a good way to do it. I mean, I never thought of it while I was there.
So I guess leading us to the next question, which elements of the original story do you feel that like is going to resonate most with the audiences today?
How has it been like incorporated into this version of the story?
What people will resonate most with, I think, is Aladdin and his story and his friends, I would say in terms of it being relatable,
because Aladdin is trying his best, but not really making it.
OK, so he's very relatable. Like as a student, you try your best sometimes and then it's still not like doesn't quite work out.
And then on top of that, when he gets stressed, he like takes on his friends and the genie.
And that's also relatable. Right.
Like you take it out on your parent or your friends and then that's not right.
And I would say Jasmine is is less relatable in the sense that because she's so rich and powerful.
Yeah, it just feels like what are you complaining about, girl?
But at the same time, with that level of responsibility that's kind of implied with her role, right.
In her case, it's marriage, but like she doesn't want that.
I think people can relate to that to a certain extent. Right.
You have families here who like their parents are going to be a lawyer.
There's not a choice. You know what I mean? To these kids.
I think those kind of kids could relate to that, like maybe not necessarily the rich and powerful part, maybe for some of them.
I don't know. But like they could relate to the sense of like, yeah, it can be that the system slash your parent,
because the sultans are her dad, right, makes you feel trapped in not being able to be an agent of your own life.
Like you can't choose. So I would say people relate to them the most.
And then those people who are maybe a bit less serious, they would relate to the genie and the friends the most because they're comic relief.
They make they keep things fun. They're helpful.
And yeah, like the friends particularly are like both.
They're just like this commentary on what's happening, you know, like when when the princess says, oh, I'm trapped in a prison.
Her friends like a really, really nice prison. You know, things like that.
So I would say those are probably the most relatable aspects in the show in terms of like I think that high schoolers and middle schoolers like, oh, yeah, I like this.
And the little kids, they'll just relate to, you know, the fun. Yeah.
All right. I think that was a great answer.
I think definitely as the audience when you're viewing a stage adaptation or you're viewing a musical, I think if you see something or someone that resonates and relates to you a lot, I think it just makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable.
So I like that you pay attention to those details.
The next question is without giving away any spoilers, are there any scenes or moments that might surprise the audience?
I think Aladdin's friends will surprise the audience because everyone's going to want Abu the monkey.
I think they're going to initially be like, oh, no, there's no monkey.
And then when they watch it, they'll be like, oh, the friends are better.
That's what I had when I listened to it first. I was like, oh, I'm actually quite happy there's no monkey because these friends are awesome.
That's one that's not really giving any spoilers.
And then scenes that will surprise them.
There's a lot of props that have been built by hand for several months.
Yeah, because they take that long.
Yes, we have animals. They don't look realistic.
They look funny, which is kind of the charm.
I kind of that's what I like. That's what I wanted.
I didn't want it to be like, oh, my gosh, it's a real, you know, insert animal.
I'm trying not to give spoilers.
Right. It's not it's not. Yeah, they're not realistic looking, but they're they're funny.
And if you think about the fact that hold on, somebody built this to work and to be rideable, you know, then you're just like, wait, how many?
If you write because it's as in from scratch, like completely from zero from from, you know, pieces of wood and metal to a creature.
So I would say those things will surprise the audience.
And there's some special effects that might surprise if you're sitting close enough to the stage that you might be like, well, did not expect to.
I can't give a spoiler if I did not expect that to happen to me or so close to me. Yeah.
Things like that. I mean, shout out to the techies.
Yes, yes, it has been really so I move on to the next question.
What happens to the props after like the show?
So we are the three Rs. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
So we take this is actually a horrible process in turn.
Well, it's therapeutic for the techies because, you know, you spent so many months building something.
And then if you just tear it down immediately, it's like sad.
But if you're like, oh, I'm tearing it apart slowly and taking it apart back to its pieces and actually see in reverse what I did, it actually feels really good.
You're like, I'm amazing.
Like sometimes like I say that out loud to myself while working with techies and they kind of chuckle at me.
So I'll do something and I'll be like, oh, Mr. G, you're a genius.
And they're like, Mr. G, why are you complimenting yourself?
And I'm like, no, I'm having positive self-talk. Right.
Like I just did something that's amazing.
I don't know many people who can do this thing.
I just did with, you know, techie X or techie Y, whatever random techie.
So we just did something and I'm like, and it worked.
And we're like, and we've been working on it for a week.
And we are like, we just try it works.
Right. Then we're like, you're like, wow, I'm amazing.
Right. Like that's pretty cool.
It's not saying that you're better than other people, just saying I can't believe we did this.
We pulled this off. It was very hard.
So kind of getting that backwards kind of makes you appreciate like how much work it was like.
It's insane. So we deconstruct everything and then whatever we could salvage, we restore and we reuse.
So, for example, in this show, we've got ply that's from COVID times, like plywood that we've reused from like Joseph or even that.
We have a few pivots of the stage that are from Oliver. Yes. Correct.
Which is insane. And then costumes wise as well, like are a lot of the people's pants is from Oliver.
So so like, you know, also ones from Shrek being reused.
So we reuse as much as we can. And then whatever we have to throw away.
OK, we throw away because we don't have infinite space.
Too bad. The pack is not the TARDIS. Then it would have be bigger on the inside.
But it's not. So we kind of like try as much as possible to to reuse.
And then there's certain props like that will never get used again in the same thing.
So, for example, like we 3D printed a magic lamp. Right.
So that one I might like sometimes do a little competition at the cast party.
Somebody wins it. Or sometimes I have a cast member that I'm like, you should just keep that if it was cheap.
It was like 30, 40 baht. You know, then it's like, this is my gift to you. There you go. Have fun.
So you're friendly. Yeah, it's better because I've seen a lot of my father in law does trade shows at Bytec.
And he was saying like he showed me one and he did one entire haul for Singapore's expo.
And I asked him what happens with the stuff at the end. He was like, we trash all of it.
Like and his company already recycles the lighting, which is apparently a big deal,
like because most of them don't even do that. There's a rebuy.
He recycles lighting TVs and coffee machines and all that.
And but but the clients are paid, they will pay for a brand new television for every single expo show they got.
So, dude, if you think about that, I'm like, somebody needs to regulate that.
You know, like you need you need that's so wasteful. You're using it for literally one week expo show.
You buy a brand new LCD screen TV and then you're and then most of the companies chuck it.
His company is the only one that electronics. They have a space to store.
But all the plywood, all the chairs and stuff, they they either try to sell it off
on the second hand or like they have to junk it because they can't keep it.
Their factories just not big enough. And so he was saying to me,
actually, the fact that you recycle actually a couple of the trees we use are from him.
He did the Witcher expo for when the Witcher season two came out.
So those trees, he was like, you want my trees? And I was like, OK.
So we've been using those trees for like four years and he's so happy.
Every time he sees the trees, he's like, oh, they're recycling the trees. Good. You know.
And so that's why we try to do that, because I think it's important to, you know,
to also teach if you're a school that focuses on the environment, which we try to do.
It's like, why why not show how much work it is, how much more work it is to recycle.
It's more work. It's much harder.
Knocking it all down would be faster and easier.
But this is hard to work. It's like, oh, maybe some things in life just have to be harder
because it's better for everyone.
So before moving on to the last question, there's just one thing I want to say.
I'm really looking forward to the show.
I mean, I want to see like how the three friends play out because I love Abu the Monkey.
Well, he's not there. You never know. I'm going to cry.
So the last question is like, how did you approach casting for such a beloved musical?
And what qualities do you look in your performers?
Yeah. So there's a great way to get a rumor out of people's heads.
I don't precast any single show.
So, you know, a lot of well-meaning teachers, let's put it that way,
they'll come to me and say, oh, wouldn't Toto be great for whatever Abu the Monkey, whatever. Right.
And so and I just literally will look at them and go, don't talk to me and walk away,
which seems rude, but it's because I don't want I want zero filter of judgment.
So I have over 150 to 160 auditioning every time.
OK, so first we separate into like, OK, these people definitely were not in.
How do we do that? I have 15 advisors. OK.
So to keep it fair and neutral, 15 different people, five for acting, five for dancing, five for singing, usually roughly those.
Sometimes it dips down to four on certain days.
But so basically, there is no way that everyone in that room likes you on a personal level.
All right. It's statistically highly improbable.
And so what that does is it gives me and I tell them, be really, really fair.
And sometimes so every year I get one or two new people in or I rotate through like Mr.
Will, I think did last year, but not this one. And then next year I might get him again.
Right. So we rotate out and cycle in different people.
And if they've done it once before, they know how like I tell them, like, no, you need like you need to be candid and blunt in these numbers.
It's all scores. So that way, if a kid doesn't get the part, I can literally be like, well, you scored four on your dancing overall.
That means your dancing was so weak that it got you out. So I can be specific.
And some kids score pretty high. But then, like, I can say, like, oh, you know, but Toto scored two points higher than you on his score.
So and because you're both the same height and build, I chose Toto because he scored two points higher and because I have 15 different people talking about that.
Then once we get to the second round, it's a lot about looking at chemistry.
So, for example, if for this last one where we know there's romance in the show, so I'll put a question in the form like how comfortable are you doing romance scenes?
And many high schoolers aren't. That's fair enough. Right.
Because I can't like teach you from scratch how to be comfortable about that.
So if you, you know, if you wrote in your form, I did depends on the guy. Right.
I'm sorry. Like that. You've just, you know, you've really reduced your chances of getting a romance lead.
Obviously, you could still get another lead if you're amazing. Right. But like, because you can't be picky.
Like, you don't know which guy you're going to get. Right. Like, yeah. Yeah. You shouldn't discriminate.
And that's the thing. Like, so it's a lot about chemistry watching. And then as they start to do those scenes, we look for the chemistry between the people.
If it seems like all these people seem like they don't know each other well, but they're being friendly, warm, and and they look like they have a connection.
That probably means their professional relationship will be nice.
Whereas if you're immediately noticing, I mean, I have noticed this in recalls.
You know, you'll get some people who are looking at their competition, like with side eye, you know, bombastic side eye.
And then and then I just think to myself, like, you like, that's not an atmosphere I want to deal with.
I don't want people who think, oh, you know, yeah, I tell my cast, like when I played man one and passerby five,
I tried just as hard as when I was like literally the lead.
Doesn't matter to me because man one, he's got a story. What's the story? Right.
And also, I had more fun backstage as man one and passerby five. Like those are my two roles.
I had way more fun because there's no pressure.
I could just, you know, outside of scenes, I could be with my friends in the changing room talking quietly and getting excited about things.
Whereas when I was the lead, I was on like, I think 90 percent of the play, I was on stage, so I can't go anywhere.
And if I do talk backstage, it's like, you got this, bro. I don't know my lines anymore. It's blanking. Oh, you got this. OK.
And I have to go, you know, and then hopefully I didn't blank on the lines.
Yeah, the casting process is complex in the sense of like the whole scoring system, the amount of people you have helping pitching in.
But in the end, I think it's the most transparent and fairest way. So it's not going through me.
The only person who makes the final call is like sometimes I'm, you know, say someone got a really great part last year and then they they're really good again the next year because they're just good.
Sometimes I'll say, hey, look like so and so got a really great part last year.
Like the the lead. Maybe this year they can have a supporting lead because we want to give opportunities for other people as well.
So I think that's the only time that I would actually go in and veto someone getting a part.
But even then, it's usually like, oh, it's getting part A, they're getting part B, and they're both really good.
It's just a matter of like you don't want to create a school.
This is how it was a little bit for me in high school where the same people are getting the leads every single year.
You want you want there to always be at least one fresh face.
But in my case, it's usually three fresh faces every year.
And same with the ensemble, right. As seniors graduate, you want a lot of eighth graders and ninth graders to be coming in to fill those roles.
And then it feels like, oh, there's opportunities for everyone. It's actually fair.
It's not whoever, you know, buys Mr. G bubble tea is getting is getting the parts.
Right. Yeah. So that's the secret. Yeah.
That whole process of elimination, I'm sure that's stressful, but it seems like it's very objective, right.
By going through the point system first and then moving on to more of the subjective stuff.
So so yeah, thank you. And that concludes our first segment with Mr. Gersom.
Stay tuned as he delivers a short PSA about the upcoming musical Aladdin.
And then we'll be right back with several cast and crew members.
One, two, three, four.
All right. So fun fact, it's actually sold out. But there is hope for you.
I've contacted New York and by the time this is out, I think they'll have given me permission because they already tried to charge me money.
And now I need to pay it. So we are doing a third show on the Monday afternoon.
So if you are hearing this by now, it's I think it's probably out.
Go check the site and there will be lots of seats open for the Monday.
OK, because every time I do the show, I have to pay them a lot of money to even be allowed to perform it.
So I need to at least offset the cost of making it available to more people.
So, yeah, I'm glad that two are sold out.
But, you know, make sure you fill all those seats, too, because the opening night is often the most nerve wracking.
Yeah, look for the 25th tickets to come soon.
And we are back with our second segment and we are joined by several Aladdin cast members who will be giving us an inside peek into the time and effort it takes learning their parts and then performing before a live audience.
OK, Mia will get us started with our second segment.
All right. Hi, guys. Very nice to have you all in the studio with us, all four of you.
So to get us started, could you all please introduce yourself?
Tell us what grade you're in and then tell us which character you're playing in the play.
My name is Noah and I am in 12th grade.
The character I am playing in the upcoming musical is Aladdin.
Hi, I'm Ella and I'm in 10th grade this year and I'll be playing Princess Jasmine.
I'm Josiah and I will be Jafar and I'm in 11th grade.
I'm Julius. I'm a senior and I'll be playing Jeannie this year.
All right. Thank you all for your answers.
So the first question we will be starting off with our very own Aladdin, Noah.
So Noah, what drew you to the role of Aladdin and how did you prepare for this really iconic character?
Well, let me start with answering the second part of the question.
The way I prepared was I watched the movie, the original cartoon from the 90s, I believe.
And I watched it for two reasons.
The first being to kind of understand the original story and the original intention behind the character.
And the second reason was to get the voice as close to the original one as possible.
What drew me to the character was that Aladdin is very hopeful and I feel that is a characteristic I would like to invoke in myself.
So this question is for Ella, aka Jasmine.
So Jasmine is such a strong and independent character.
How do you relate to her and what aspects of her personality did you focus on during the rehearsals?
This is a hard question for me because she's in many ways different than me.
She obviously grew up in the palace and grew up isolated from people.
I think one way I think we have similar values is we both really love people.
We care about each other and I'm personally quite a control freak.
So I love to control everything and that might irritate people sometimes.
Well, one part of her personality I had to focus on and rehearse quite a lot is she's very poised.
She's very, she knows what she wants.
So I had to include that in my physicality as a character and fix my posture.
I really feel like a princess, honestly, and I think that would be any little girl's dream.
So that was fun playing something that I am not used to playing.
All right, our next question, her very own Genie Julius.
So the Genie is known for being very lively, comedic, funny.
My question is how did you approach bringing your own interpretation to this beloved character?
Yeah, the fun thing about having such an iconic character is that I kind of get to bring my own personality to it almost.
So what I did was I watched a lot of like not even just like the animated movie.
I watched other productions of this like on YouTube and stuff.
So it was really fun getting to prepare for it.
I think something about Genie is that like each person who does it has their own personality tied into their portrayal of Genie.
I feel like personally, I brought my own kind of like sass and almost like femininity to it as well.
Yeah.
Well, sass.
I mean, I think that's a great aspect to add to a Genie.
I mean, also, it would be funny if Josiah would also have been Genie too.
So moving on to Josiah, also known as Jafar.
What aspects of Jafar's character do you find like the most intriguing to portray?
And how do you bring your own interpretation to such an iconic villain?
Okay, so like Jasmine and Ella, Jafar is his own princess type character.
He's very poised and he's very elegant with his words and his ways.
I kind of tried to bring my own laid back opposite of Ella, not a control freak, not a very control freak person into that character.
Mr. G did not let me do that.
He said that Jafar is a control freak, so I had to do that.
So for my own interpretation of this iconic villain is not very my own interpretation, and it is more of the Mogamishn of every other Jafar's that I have seen and every big bad guy that is just a control freak.
All right. Thank you for your answer, Jafar.
Now, this is actually a group question. So for all of you guys, can you please share some fun or memorable moments from rehearsals that showcase the camaraderie among the cast?
Noah, you can start. Thank you.
I will say that I feel for and I think I can speak for a lot of the cast.
The running of the scenes and itself is kind of the thing that kind of brings us together.
I will say that I've gotten to know a lot of my fellow cast members better, and I think that showcases the camaraderie.
Being part of any production, really, every year, it's such a I'm so grateful to be part of such a high quality and high standard school that really puts effort into producing quality shows.
So moments backstage are some of the funnest parts of being in productions like Arturo and we from last year.
We get to know each other. We order food. We sing together. We do our makeup together. And some years we get fully costumed.
We were done with our makeup. Then we sometimes walk to 7-Eleven and people would just stare at us and that's one of the funnest memories we will have together.
Yeah, like Ella said, production being in any production, you will grow closer to your cast members and you will find fellowship in the cast itself.
And it is very fun to be around because at the beginning you may not know all of them or you might be a little hesitant.
But at the end, there is always a little bit of sadness in being done with the production and having to leave all these people and not being able to act with them again.
A good showcase of camaraderie is always backstage when we're not supposed to be talking.
People's true character really comes out and you get to see what they are when they're not supposed to be talking.
No names, but I can say that I have maybe broken that rule before and I have talked backstage.
But always after the scenes and when you're off of backstage in your own rooms that can't be heard on stage, it is very fun to converse and be in those high intensity situations where you don't know if you're going to have to go on stage soon.
You should know, but you don't know.
I definitely agree with the others in saying that the backstage stuff is definitely one of the best parts of being in like what goes on behind the scenes.
It's really fun back there.
I think a fun and memorable moment I had was just this past weekend.
We had a Saturday rehearsal and it was a tech run where we put all the tech together and it's fun to kind of like see it all like start to come together because we've been running without all like the tech stuff going.
So this past weekend we started using...
Am I allowed to...
I think...
Okay, this is kind of a spoiler.
It's not that much of a spoiler.
Yeah, okay.
There is a horse and we've had some trouble getting the horse to work in the way that we wanted it to, but it was really fun to see it come together, especially all the tech stuff.
So the next one is also a group question.
So what has been the most challenging aspect of like preparing for this musical and how did you overcome it?
For me, there were two kind of key things that were very hard for me during this role and one of them was the lines because there were very many lines and I have a problem with memorizing lines.
So, obviously the solution to this is to memorize them.
But I will just say to anyone who is preparing for...
Not specifically acting.
It could be anything.
You should...
Anything in public speaking or public where you're going to be in front of people, you should probably memorize what you're going to say.
Another thing that I found difficult about playing this role specifically were the romantic scenes because if I'm being honest,
they can be a little intimidating at times, but I think I can hopefully speak for the cast and Mr. G that it has gotten better and we have worked it out.
So, obviously for preparing for performances, you have to prepare. One of the things I had to work on is my singing voice because I'm not quite used to musical theater as much.
My voice was a lot more pop like or like not very open in a way.
So I had to practice. I had to...
And honestly, I had a lot of fun.
How I would come in, I just practiced. I tried to listen to my body and how to make different noises.
It sounds weird, but that's the reality of it. So that was a fun process.
Also with the acting, I think it's very important for me to set my personal life outside off the stage because if you're acting on stage, you're not yourself.
I'm not Ella as Jasmine. I'm Jasmine.
People are going to watch me play Jasmine, not Ella being Ella on stage.
So with the romantic scenes as well, it's not me, it's Jasmine. So that was something to overcome.
For me, the most challenging aspect of this musical is probably not the musical itself or Jafar the character, but the reputation that the big bad guy holds.
Because all the big bad guys that I have watched at ICS in the past plays like Davey in Oliver three or four years ago, he did a phenomenal job.
Darren in Shrek two years ago, I think he also did a great job.
And the most challenging thing for me will probably still to be but to also hit that level of very good, very awesome, very bad villains that actually look like a villain and actually measure up to the standards that Darren and Davey, those notable names, have set for me beforehand.
And I hope to hit it. And I think I will.
The most challenging part for me when I'm playing Jeannie, I think it's just how kind of intense Jeannie is.
It's a very physically intense role. It's very high energy.
So in real life, I'm usually pretty chill, I feel like. So I've had to come into practice being ready to go 100% out there.
And something I used to tell myself, like a challenge I would put for myself would be like, okay, this time I'm going to outdo myself and every single day I would say, okay, I'm going to outdo myself in this aspect, whether it's dancing or the singing part or just like the overall energy.
Yeah, I think I really kind of trained myself to have that muscle memory and keep the energy up as Jeannie.
Yeah, thank you for your answers. I think on top of everything that you guys just said, you guys are also still students.
You guys also have siblings, you have friends, you have to come to school every day and you maybe have tests and homework.
Well, there's obviously rehearsals that the audience doesn't know of, but you guys do because, well, you're the ones in the play.
And I think on top of everything that you just said about the singing and dancing, it is hard.
It's hard to balance and I'm having a hard time and I'm not even in the play.
So I can't imagine how hard it must be for you guys to like, oh, it's after school, but I have rehearsal.
And man, who knows when you guys will actually be able to go home.
So I just hope that maybe after the play and after everything, you guys will be able to get some proper rest.
So yeah, just props to you guys.
All right, for the next question, let's stay a bit on track here.
Noah, how have you connected with the music and choreography in Aladdin?
And could you also describe your favorite number to perform?
So for me, I personally really like the Renaissance era of Disney movies, the 90s to the early thousands,
which was Aladdin, Mulan, Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame.
All of those, I really enjoy them.
And I like to just, I especially like the part of those movies where they have very deep life lessons and deep meanings
while also being relatively short and having a simple storyline.
And I feel like nowadays when you see movies and shows, either they're very well thought out and very deep,
but maybe they're very drawn out and long, or they're short, but with not a lot of meaning.
So I think that's something special about these movies.
And now in the musical, the musical edition, so I feel that's how I connect with music.
That was more of the story as well.
My favorite number to perform is A Whole New World.
And I would say that because it's kind of the turning point in the entire show, and it's the pinnacle.
And that is why I love it.
So I guess the next question would be for Ella. How does the setting of Agrabah influence your portrayal of Jasmine and the story as a whole?
Well, the only time Jasmine gets to see her own kingdom essentially is when she goes out, she sneaks out.
Don't tell the Sultan.
She sneaks out and she gets to see Agrabah for what it really is.
In a way, she gains confidence, I think, of finding her own path and exploring on her own instead of me helping her or anything.
Yeah, so it really brings out her confidence and getting to see the real world and learning about the people she loves.
And for me as well, if I don't have confidence in myself, I won't have confidence to play the character as well as I can.
So with that confidence of seeing Agrabah and kind of shifting the storyline and meeting Aladdin, that was quite cool.
Okay, thank you, Ella. Very nicely said.
And now for the last question. This is also a group question and we'll be starting with Julius.
So what has been your favorite thing about this entire process and what advice would you give to the audience about Aladdin?
I think my favorite part about this whole Aladdin process is really soaking it in during my senior year.
And this being my last musical, it's a little sad.
I'm a little bit in denial right now, but it's really fun getting to know my co-actors and really enjoy this time with them.
Because I really don't think that I'm going to be acting past this point, so it's really nice to have this be like my closure play.
But yeah, other than that, it's really fun to just be with the cast and crew.
I think some advice I would give to the audience about this performance is to, I guess, leave behind their perceptions about Aladdin almost.
Because while this is Aladdin, it's Aladdin the musical is kind of a separate entity than the movie.
I really feel like because it adds so much more depth to the story than the movie, I feel.
So that would be my advice. Yeah.
For me, the favorite thing about the entire process is the thing that has been mentioned before.
The community that you gain in being a show and being in a show like this or any show really is just a very nice sense of family that you gain.
And it is a very fun thing as well, even though it is stressful sometimes with all the rehearsals and all the lines you've got to memorize and everything you've got to do.
It is all worth it in the end because all the people you get to know in the show, whether they're backstage tech or acting with you, it is a very worthwhile investment to have.
The advice I would give to the audience is, like Julia said, it is different than the movie.
I can tell you that. Not in a bad way, I don't think, but it is different than the movie.
And you need to keep that in mind because there are not as many cool effects that you can do with animation in a real life play.
So one of the favorite parts of the process is when everything comes together, but specifically the costumes and the audience.
Because we've put all this work and all this critique has been laid on us so that we can do better and the best we can.
But when we get our costumes on, when we get our makeup on, we can really get into character.
And when the audience is there, it's so magical because they can react to all our hard work and it's really magical.
So advice I would give to the audience is Aladdin is a classic, like Josiah said and Julia said.
Just really enjoy it. Really look for the little details we put into it.
And honestly, we worked really hard on this.
So I hope you guys can really just sit back and relax and really just enjoy and laugh with us as we have some fun on stage.
My favorite part of the musical process is when the tech and theater come together.
And I can see this in even my friends.
Like I have gotten to know a lot of very nice theater arts people and then I see my technical theater friends.
And it kind of creates a interesting mix of people that I don't think you find many places.
Very practical and like just work and then the creativeness.
And that is something truly special I feel about this part of the process.
Some advice I would give about the performance is that to fully understand Aladdin, you must, you can't take it at face value.
It is in many ways an allegory for kind of bigger universal themes.
So if you truly want to get the full experience, you have to look beneath the surface.
And there you have it, a behind the scenes look into the upcoming musical Aladdin with some of our student actors.
We're excited to see this performance and thank you so much for carving out time to join us today.
Good job guys.
As we end this episode, we want to thank again some of the Aladdin crew and Mr. Gersom for eking out some time from their busy rehearsal days to come join us in the studio.
I'm quite excited to see this performance.
So we at Students Incorporated wish you the best of luck and dare I say break a leg.
Stay tuned for our next episode as we interview two seasoned educators and journalists about higher education and the field of journalism.
And as always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international student production team.
All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives sharing copyright free images, videos and music.
And we are signing off until next time.
We are Students Incorporated because your voice matters.