Ashleigh Smith ('25)
The Pirandello Players are SBHS’ theater club, who perform both a winter play and spring musical annually. This year, the spring musical is Mean Girls: High School Edition, taking place on April 10-12. Rehearsals for this show began on February 4. This means there are over two months of preparation, but what does this rehearsal process look like?
The process starts with the music. The songs are integral parts of the plot, and ensuring everyone is confident in the words and notes they sing allows the musical to run seamlessly. Thus, the first rehearsals consist of music days, where the music director breaks down each singing section and has each voice part sing through it.
Freshman Pirandello Player, Emmett Lipman, said, “My favorite thing about music rehearsal days is when I get to sing the harmonies. The harmonies are good to hear and listen to, and it’s great to just sing out and have fun because that’s what singing really is!”
To go along with the songs are dance numbers. During rehearsal days dedicated to dance,a choreographer comes to teach the cast the dances. Since the musicals have so many long dance numbers, the choreographer goes step by step for each part of each song.
Each number is carefully choreographed to ensure each person can be seen in their formations, while still making sure the lead characters are where they need to be in the scene. The choreography needs to look concise while still matching the music. There are appointed dance captains to help people who may struggle with the moves and to make sure the dances run smoothly.
Adding another layer of the process is the technological aspect of each show. Every show has multiple members of the tech crew running lighting and audio for each show. During a “Cue to Cue,” a lighting designer will come in and have the cast walk through each scene and music number, and set light changed (also called cues) for each moment, making sure each person is lit and the lights accentuate the feeling the scene is supposed to make the audience feel.
“I love tech week, when all of the lights and audio starts because it’s fun that that week we actually get to put on our show. It’s great to see everything come together,” Junior Pirandello Player actor Juliana Bietler said.
On the other side of the tech booth are the people running audio. Audio consists of two main parts: the microphones and the sound effects. A member of the audio tech crew will read through the script and find all of the different sound effects that the show will need, uploading them and managing them to make them run smoothly through the show. They also manage the microphones, making sure they are unmuted and at the proper sound levels for each scene, while also muting and unmuting them each time someone enters or exits the stage.
Junior Audio Technology Manager, Maia Marcelo, said, “Tech week is important for the tech crew because I can see how the show all comes together and see the true impact of sound and audio to the show we worked on,” Junior Audio Tech Crew Member Maia Marcelo said.
The audio tech crew also has to work with the pit orchestra, having a rehearsal dedicated to a sitzprobe, a day where everyone sings through the songs with the pit orchestra there. This allows both groups to understand each other so the songs sound as intended. The audio crew has to ensure the microphones are at the proper levels so the audience can hear the singers but also hear the pit.
There are months of rehearsals filled with hard work leading up to the performances. Each rehearsal is crucial in the overall creation of the show, and all of the energy put into these rehearsals is what makes the Pirandello Players’ shows as amazing as they are.
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