Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host,
Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my students and
I bring you 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. There's a special
kind of magic that only happens in a school theater.
It's the sound of backstage whispers, the hum
of a spotlight, and the thrill of an audience
waiting for the curtain to rise. It's the smell
of fresh paint and old costumes. It's the place
where, for a few hours, we all agreed to believe
in something new. And right now, the magic is
running a full power as our school gets ready
to open the curtain on Wind in the Willows. But
what does it really take to bring Toad, Mole,
Ratty, and Badger to life? It's not just about
the actors you see on stage. Today, we're pulling
back the curtain and going behind the scenes
of the production. Our co -hosts James and Highlight
sit down with the student actors and stagehands
to find out what it's really like to be in the
show. And later, we'll get the director's perspective
from the head of the whole production. But first,
let's hear our quote of the day and get some
headline news. Welcome back. It's time for our
quote of the day. Since we're talking to students
in our first segment who are using their creativity
to build an entire world on stage, we're focusing
on the true power of imagination. Our quote comes
from the acclaimed writer J .K. Rowling, who
said, Imagination is not only the uniquely human
capacity to envision that which is not, it is
the power that enables us to empathize with humans
whose experiences we have never shared. This
practice of stepping into someone else's shoes
on stage is the very thing that helps them understand
their friends, classmates, and people in the
real world better. It is a critical skill for
life, all learned by just telling a story. Speaking
of the real world, let's see what's currently
making headlines in the world of arts and theater.
Highlight is up next with our headline news.
Thank you, James, for our quote of the day. First
up, let's talk about one of the most anticipated
movie musicals in years. Variety has just confirmed
that filming has wrapped on Wicked Part 2, the
second half of the massive film adaptation starring
Cynthia as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.
For anyone who doesn't know, Wicked is the record
-breaking Broadway sensation that tells the untold
story of the witches of Oz. It's been running
for over two decades, so the pressure to get
this movie right is huge. Director John M. Chu
assured fans that the late 2025 release date
is locked in. It's always a huge challenge to
bring a beloved stage show to the screen, but
with that all -star cast, expectations are sky
high. Moving from the screen back to the stage,
there's incredible news for fans of behind -the
-scenes drama, Playbill. reports that a new stage
musical based on the NBC TV series Smash is officially
heading to Broadway, set to open in the spring
of 2026. The original TV show was all about the
drama, passion, and chaos of creating a new musical
about Marilyn Monroe. Now, that story is becoming
a real -life Broadway show, directed by the legendary
five -time Tony winner Susan Stroman, the genius
behind The Producers. It's a perfect example
of art imitating art, a musical about making
a musical. That's a theme I think we and our
listeners know a little something about right
now. And for our final headline, a story that
proves that the classics never fade, the New
York Times announces that a major revival of
the iconic musical, Oliver, is coming to Broadway
next season. Based on Charles Dickens' timeless
novel Oliver Twist. This is the show that gave
us unforgettable songs like Food, Glorious Food,
and Consider Yourself. This new production was
a runaway success in London and is being mounted
by the same producer who brought Malin Rogue,
the musical. to life. It's a powerful reminder
that great stories can be reinvented for new
generations, finding new ways to reconnect with
audiences, which is exactly what every theater
company from Broadway to our own school aims
to do. And that ends our headline news for this
episode. Thank you for the quote in the headline
news. As we just heard in the news, putting on
a show this big is a massive community effort.
Now we're going to hear directly from the students
who are living it every day. I'm handing the
microphone over to James and Highlight, who are
sitting down with some of the cast and crew of
Wind in the Willows. We welcome Josiah, Layla,
Sibel, Ginny, and Talent to the studio. James,
go ahead and get us started. So guys, how did
you bring your character to life in the musical
so that people don't really think that you're
acting, but you're embodying your role? For me,
getting into the role was quite easy. After getting
my cane, I just... worked around the cane, and
then I became the old wise badger guy that I
needed to be. For me, I play the role of barge
woman and also rabbit. So one thing that really
helped me distinguish between these two roles
are my physicality. So I use, there's this guy
named Laban. So it is like the different ways
of how you move your body, like fast, slow, light,
heavy, things like that. And I also use this
levels of tension, the seven levels of tension
by Jack LeCocq. So it's very physical. These
two roles are much more physical than psychological
for me. In this show, I am a stout, which is
an animal that looks similar to a weasel. At
first, I didn't know what it was. But I feel
like if you are acting as an animal, by looking
at their pictures and videos, you can get a more
clear sense of how they act in their everyday
life. So that's something that helped me a lot.
Yeah, similar to Jenny, for me, I had to think
about different techniques that we learned in
theater with the weight of the character. And
for me, it was more psychological because I feel
like I'm very similar to my character. in physicality.
So yeah, it was a lot of using techniques that
I learned in theater, making sure that I remember
that when I'm actually acting it out on stage.
So I play Reddy and some of the techniques that
I used were the same as what the previous actor
said, like LeBron and everything. But something
that I did personally was I read the script and
I really digested the scene. And so what that
allowed me to do was it really allowed me to
apply real human feelings to the scene. Okay,
thank you all for sharing the different techniques
you used when performing. What was the most challenging
or rewarding part of preparing for this production?
So one of the most challenging things for me
when preparing for this production was definitely
the accent. Because, I mean, a lot of the times
people can be like, oh, you're just doing an
easy British accent, but... That's the thing
about me. I don't want to do just a British accent.
I want to sound like a native speaker. Also,
something that was really challenging with the
show was definitely the vocals. Because sometimes
my character has to sing these really high notes
that I think I can't reach. But honestly, it's
just like, it's all mental. For me, I loved the
singing aspect of things. I think that was the
most rewarding part for me. When I finally reached
a note that I had a mental block about in my
big solo song, I like had such a big high note
that for me, I kept going flat on and it was
stressing me out so bad that every time I sang
it, it was just mentally like, I can't do it.
I can't do it. But then when I finally hit it
in our recent rehearsal, I got so excited. For
me, that's the most rewarding part. I also want
to talk about the part that I felt like was the
most rewarding to me. So this is my last year
in ICS as a senior and also my last year as a
dance captain in our school musicals. So I'm
spending more time this year to just look around
me at the different... people from different
grades all acting and dancing together. And this
is a sight that we don't get to see in other
classes or during the school day. So I felt like
it was really rewarding to see all of those people
with the same passion about theater together.
For me, a really big struggle is juggling all
of the workload. Not only am I like the assistant
director and actor, I am also part of tech and
Apart from that, I also have AP classes that
I'm taking at school. I'm currently taking three,
which to some people might not be a lot, but
all of these classes have their own source of
struggles that I have to deal with apart from
being part of the musical. And not only that,
I have to deal with, as I said before, I am a
techie, so I have to make props and work more
than others because... I have like my duties
as assistant director too, so I can't go to tech
rehearsals. So I have to do it outside of class
during my own like home time or free time. So
it's definitely been a struggle to balance between
all of these different aspects, both musical
and my personal life and my academic life. Mine
would probably be a lot like talent. It's more
of a rewarding and a challenging thing as I did
have a lot of mental blocks for some notes in
my singing and the fact that I was able to overcome
those mental blocks and be able to sing it was
quite rewarding. Alright guys, we have one final
question. Were there any particular moments in
the process that felt more meaningful to you?
Something special or personal to the experience
as a whole? I can't really say any particular
moments, but just the entirety of being the older
person that the younger people in the cast look
up to sometimes, it's been very nice to just
be the person who's giving them advice as I grew
up with other people giving me advice, and now
I can pass that down. For me, something that
was really particular... That felt really meaningful
to me is getting to see all sides of the process
of making the musical. Because as I said previously,
I have a lot of roles apart from the things that
you might expect as an actor. So as like a future
theater major. I really do appreciate seeing
all of these different facets of theater making
because now I have more ideas on what I want
to do in the future and how I might take these
skills that I've learned by being part of this
musical and applying it to my future college
life and my future career. So I am part of the
Wildwooders in the play, and this year our dances
are really cool. And I remember when we finished,
This one dance got taken over the hall and we
did like the whole thing together for the first
time ever. And then we finished and everyone
was like, wow, that was so amazing. And I really
felt like it was a really meaningful moment just
to be able to dance with everyone. For me, a
moment that was very meaningful was there's just
been so many parts. I can't necessarily choose
one, but the one that keeps coming to mind is
there's a few rehearsals where we have spent
lots of time laughing less time actually rehearsing
and there's no particular reason as to why we'll
just come on stage we cannot keep a straight
face and it takes so long um but they're really
fun and I think they really bond us all as a
cast uh yeah I mean really this whole process
is actually really meaningful to me because um
I started acting since elementary school. And
so I get to see all these people that I've been
growing up with. I get to see how they progress
as actors and I get to see how I progress as
an actor myself. And so just seeing all these
people around me and how they become better at
acting and seeing how the upperclassmen, seeing
them lead us, it's just, it's all really meaningful
to me. Wow. Thank you, everybody. What a great
conversation. A huge thank you to our student
guests for sharing those stories. It's one thing
to see the finished show, but it's another to
hear about the personal journey, all the challenges
and rewards that happen behind the curtain. We're
going to take a quick break for a message. And
when we come back, we're going from the stage
to the director's chair. All right. In this episode,
it seems we've been hearing amazing stories from
the cast of The Wind in the Willows. And it's
more than just a musical. It's a masterclass
in teamwork. Whether you're a stage manager,
a lead, or part of the ensemble, a production
only works if everybody shows up, listens, and
supports each other. That kind of dedication
translates to everything you do, from group projects
in science to leadership roles in clubs. So,
here's our public service announcement. Embrace
the ensemble. Look for ways to contribute. Commit
to your responsibilities and celebrate your teammates'
successes on the stage and off. The skills you
build being a wild wooder or a riverbank animal
are the same ones that build strong students
and strong communities. Get involved, show up
for the arts, and be a great collaborator. Let's
jump back in and hear more about life backstage.
Welcome back. In our first segment, we heard
from some of the cast and crew about their experience
on the front lines. But who is the person responsible
for guiding the entire process? We are now joined
by the director of Wind in the Willows, our very
own Mr. G, as we like to call him. Welcome to
the show, and James will get us started again.
All right, Mr. G. Looking back at your first
show with us up until Wind in the Willows, what
is one moment or performance that stands out
as a personal highlight and what made it so special
for you? Okay, I will say I can never choose
a favorite because I always have so many things
I like about all the different shows and I think
there's highlights in all of them. But I will
say that the first time I started doing more
serious acting shows so it began with Lord of
the Flies which was my second show and then we
did like 1984 we did Arturo Uy so a lot of a
lot of our our like shows that have handled I
mean I love musicals don't get me wrong but I
like the shows where we really challenge people's
acting so in terms of like from the beginning
till now like everything in Wind of the Willows
all the talent that you see it's not based off
like oh wow they're so talented no they built
that like over years and years of the program
just building on itself And so I think that would
be my highlight is like seeing the growth from
year one to year eight. And that that's not just
me. That's like also the students reaching down
to the younger classes. Right. So I think that
would be my highlight or my special thing is
like seeing the student leadership evolve and
grow and then also take a big hit during COVID.
Right. Because then we were online. It was much
harder to do stuff. And then. rising back from
the ashes like a firebird. I would say that would
be my highlight of the whole time. Yes, it's
definitely amazing to see that growth over the
years, especially after the pandemic and how
you've helped students build that confidence
on stage. So as the director, what's the most
rewarding part of your job? The most rewarding
part is also the saddest part at the same time.
is the is actual show days because when you see
the actual show days and everything's like going
really really well because we practice it like
crazy and then also just the confidence boost
that gives everyone even myself because sometimes
i'm like will we make it and then yeah we made
it where you were fine um that's hugely rewarding
but it's also sad because you know that by the
final show night which is usually a day or two
later that's it like that show's over so these
people that you've spent literally hours of your
time with I mean, you'll still see them, but
you won't see them as much. So it's both super
rewarding and super sad at the same time. All
right. Well, on that note, speaking of the process,
over the years, you've seen countless students
grow from tentative beginners to confident performers.
What is the single most important piece of advice
you would give to our current and future student
actors? So my biggest advice is actually ripped
off from Tim Minchin, who's a comedian and the
writer of Matilda. the musical and he says instead
of setting really long -term goals set micro
goals so really small achievable within like
within a year basically or within a smaller amount
of time because what happens with a lot of actors
as well is they set these really high unrealistic
goals that they're impossible to achieve within
the time whereas when they start setting micro
goals for themselves for example oh all i want
to do is i want to be able to at least cry this
semester on stage, right? That's like a very
small goal, but then I'll say, okay, let's break
that down into even smaller steps. First of all,
are you even comfortable with sadness on stage?
Start there. And then I'm like, okay, first you
have to address that. And so in building micro
goals is a lot better also because when opportunities
come up, you won't be so focused on that far
away goal and you'll actually grab opportunities
on the side, which build towards your portfolio.
So it's actually good life advice in general.
It's not just for acting, but I would say, The
amount of things I picked up in my life and skills
I picked up by just being like, yeah, okay. Because
I wasn't like focused on one crazy far away future.
It's like way more meaningful and built way more
skills than, than like my longer term goals.
Like finishing a degree is cool. But like during
that degree, you know, serving coffee to someone,
they were like, oh, you want to follow me around?
I was like, okay. And I just followed the creative
director of the theater around because she just
offered. So if I'd been focused on just finishing
my degree, I would have been focused on my grades
and not picked up that opportunity. But I was
like, yeah, I'm free all next week, sure. And
like just setting those kind of micro goals so
you can pick up skills on the side as you go
would be my biggest advice. Yep, I agree. And
that's important to set like smart goals and
to see the bigger picture and who you can become
in the long run, right? Because these incremental
steps that you take would eventually lead to
profound personal transformations. So similar
to setting goals throughout every performance,
there will be challenges. So which show was the
most difficult to direct or produce? And what
was the magic trick or moment that helped you
finally conquer it? I think every show is hard.
OK, let's say I don't pick easy shows. Let's
just put it that way. Maybe I do it to myself.
But I think every show is hard in different ways.
So you have some that are emotionally taxing
for actors or actresses like Arturo Uy. Like
literally people are pretending to be Hitler.
Like, you know, the character is basically Hitler.
So like, OK, how do we tackle that? Right. Or
how do we tackle the nuance between like being
really political in that play? and at the same
time, you know, people not taking it the wrong
way. So there can be those kind of challenges.
I find those kind of challenges fun. I think
in terms of, like, this show, Wind of the Willows,
there's a lot of in... The acting has actually
been easier. A lot of the actors mentioned, like,
the singing's really hard. But they can do a
lot of that independently and really work on
that. And the acting for a lot of, especially
our really experienced ones, it's, you know,
they can use Laban or Laban, however you want
to say it, or a lot of like simple acting techniques
because the characters are musical theater characters.
And so they've just been able to nail that. And
a lot of my notes are quite basic, like, oh,
remember to do this, blah, blah, blah. It's a
lot of like small corrections. Versus other shows.
Whereas the technical side of how things flow
in the show. I mean there's like. There's three
boats. Two trains. Two cars. And all the normal
locations. So there's just a ridiculous amount
of tech construction. That's been really difficult.
And I would say the magic trick. For all theater.
The magic theater dust is overtime. Like it's
just. If you put in a lot of work into something.
you do well. And so as someone who kind of skirted
through life in my early days, because I was
easily memorizing things in school, right? That
was, that was the easy part for me. So I would
just like not try being surrounded by constant
challenges that I actually have to work. Like
no one's going to do that magically for me. Same
with my tech crew. I always tell them like, no
one's going to magically clean up for you or
no one's going to magically build that thing.
You build it. So I would say the magic dust is
over time and hard work and lots of sweat, blood,
and sometimes tears. Well, that's a very long
answer, Mr. G. Sorry. And as we sadly know, Wind
in the Willows will be your final show here.
So I'm going to ask a more sentimental question.
Is there a theme, a message, or even just a specific
piece of music from this production that feels
particularly resonant or meaningful as you close
this major part in your life? Yes. So, there's
two actually. One is there's a song in the musical,
which a lot of people heard in the preview, which
is called A Friend is Still a Friend. It's about
if your friends mess up and you still forgive
them and move on. But for me, that's personal
because I view my life as chapters, kind of like
you said. So if there's different chapters in
my life, then this is one chapter. But when the
chapter finishes, it doesn't mean the book is
closed. So like knowing that, you know, if students
are visiting Europe or whatever, even if they're
like all the way in Amsterdam, which is like
an hour from me. I would still be like, yeah,
dude, yeah, come by. We'll meet halfway. Or,
you know, I'd try to meet up with them, which
I've done with quite a lot of alumni already.
So that would be one. And the other one is there's
a song called A Place to Come Back To. And it's
all about forgetting about your old house and
then like coming back to your old house. And
that one always hits me really hard because I
know that eventually I'll fly back to Thailand
for like a vacation. And I'll have that very
deep sentimental feeling of like this was home
and it technically still is home. but it's also
not home at the same way it was. So that one
always makes me a little like choked up. Like,
oh, like when she sings that song, also Layla
sings it beautifully. So big props to her. But
it's like, oh, it just pulls my heartstrings
every time because I'm like, I know that like
come next July when school starts or yeah, end
of July, right? August. I'm going to see all
the pictures of people going back to school and
I'm going to be like, that's my, that's my place
to come back to, but I'm not coming back. So
I would say that's my main two takeaways. Yeah,
like songs can definitely bring so much nostalgia
and also memories as well as serve as this vehicle
for you to reconnect with both the past and look
forward into the future. So while we're sad to
see you go, we're also excited for your next
chapter. What does your encore look like? What
musical adventure are you most looking forward
to tackling next? So that's a bit of a mystery
right now. European job market moves way faster.
So a lot of jobs I've looked at, they're like,
oh, can you start next month? And I'm like, no.
What? You're looking at next month? I'm looking
at next year. So that's really hard to know.
What I do know for sure in terms of, I mean,
musical adventure, we'll see. There's definitely
some people I've already spoken to who are like,
oh, can you help us out? But I'm not sure if
I'm going to say yes yet. Because, you know,
it depends how much they pay. Definitely in terms
of adventure, I'd probably be looking at teaching
some college level theater as well and maybe
pursuing a PhD. And music wise, I'd like to do
my own YouTube channel a little bit more because
I do that whenever I'm not working on a musical.
I am always releasing my own music. So, yeah,
I would say those are the main things. It's hard
to know right now, but I think that's what it's
going to look like. Wow, what a great conversation.
So a big thank you to Mr. G for sharing with
us. It was much more than just a look at Wind
in the Willows, hearing you reflect on your personal
highlights, the advice you've shared with students
over the years, and what this final show means
to you. It's clear how much passion and care
you've poured into our school's theater and drama
program over the years. We're sad to see you
go, but we're wishing you the best on your next
encore. What a perfect way to close out this
production. And that wraps up our behind -the
-scenes look at Wind in the Willows. If there's
one thing we learned today, it's that the magic
of theater we talked about at the beginning isn't
just what you see on stage. It's in the hard
work, the collaboration, the empathy, and the
shared passion of every single student and teacher
involved. A huge thank you to all the students
from the cast and crew who shared their stories
with us. And a special thank you to our director,
Mr. G, for everything you've given to this school's
theater program over the years. Now the best
way for all of us to thank them is to go see
the show. Thank you, as always, for listening.
If you liked the episode, please subscribe wherever
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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.