The storm arrived before the overture did. Opening night of “Singing in the Rain” was only a day away once everyone returned to school on Jan. 28. But instead of tap shoes and umbrellas, the cast found themselves having to battle schedule and production changes. Not to mention, a forecast that refused to take a bow.
“It was really stressful,” senior Hadley Ellis said. “I think we were definitely relying on those days to be able to finish the set and make sure everything’s together, and now we only have one day.”
As the storm dragged on, rethinking the production was necessary. Sets sat unfinished. Costumes were tailored last minute. Some of the most exciting technical effects of the show had to be reimagined. Flexibility had to replace certainty and creativity had to step in where rehearsal time fell short.
“We gotta change some of the technical aspects.” sophomore Mason Grogan said. “We were going to have rain on stage during the “Singin’ in the Rain” song. But, we might have to cut that and just do something else. [The weather’s] a pretty big inconvenience because we missed a lot of potential days where we could rehearse and work on stuff.”
With the technical and set crew wrestling with painting the sets, sound, and lights, the actors faced a different challenge. Musical theater depends on the chemistry, timing, and shared rhythm that only come when the performers are together on stage. Instead of rehearsing together in-person, the rehearsal process had to move online.
“We were able to do phone calls, but it was a lot of just character work online,” sophomore Kathryn Norman said. “So we didn’t get to rehearse the show very well.”
Even with the setbacks and exhaustion, the students responded and shifted to problem-solving mode instead of letting lost rehearsal days slow the production down to a halt.
“It’s been scary, but we’re getting it done,” junior Kierra McAshan said. “We’re coded out this entire week. And we all work on every piece of it.”
Despite everything, the pressure did not pull the group apart.
“We are like a family, so it’s much easier knowing that we’re going to be there for each other,” freshman Lyndsey Scibana said. “It’s more comforting being here than not.”
