From April 28 to May 1 the repertory theatre class performed “Emma: The Musical” based on the novel by Jane Austen. Emma is a story of a young girl who deems herself a matchmaker and for better or for worse finds it her duty to help those around her find love, while Emma herself goes on a winding path to her own love.
The lead role, Emma is played by senior Josie Mason in the Paltrow cast and senior Reece Miller in the Taylor-Joy cast. Miller finds her character interesting and unique to play.
“Emma is honestly very self-absorbed,” Miller said. “She thinks very highly of herself and wants to make other people’s lives better, but she doesn’t really realize how she’s actually damaging them. And she doesn’t really think that she has faults, but she does, and then towards the end of the story, she comes to realize those faults in her character and becomes a better person.”
Another character in the show is Mrs. Weston, Emma’s governess, who is played by junior Izzy Simms and sophomore Natalie Long. Simms enjoys playing Mrs. Weston.
“She’s really kind, and she cares so much about Emma and her family, and she cares so much for everyone in the town. And she just wants people to be happy, and she really wants Emma to find love,” Simms said.
A lot of preparation has gone into getting “Emma” ready for the stage. The cast list came out in August however, December is when rehearsals got serious. Not only does repertory theatre rehearse every class. The week before the show they rehearse every day after school. According to Miller there is a lot to do during rehearsals.
“For this show, we have done a lot of vocal rehearsals with our accompanist,” Miller said. “ So we come into class, and then we decide what we want to sing through, and then we will also run through the shows. Then we have tech week, which is when we get in our costumes, and then we run the show from beginning to end.”
Running through a show is an important part of rehearsals, but to Simms, so are the little ways actors practice for each role.
“It definitely changes for each role. First semester with “Footloose” and “Holiday Inn,” it was very, very dance heavy. So me and my friend Barron would always huddle up and stretch together and just kind of talk out what’s happening with the show, and just kind of breathe,” Simms said. “For this show it’s definitely kind of going around to everybody, because everybody forms their little groups, and we just kind of talk out what’s happening, and obviously say good luck to each other.”
Repertory theatre and main stage theater have many differences. One of the biggest differences Simms has noticed is the number of students involved and how involved each student is.
“I love both of them, but they’re very, very different, because rep is more exclusive, and it’s more the kids who really want to do it and really love it. Because you wouldn’t put it on your schedule and audition for it if you didn’t actually love theater,” Simms said. “[Rep is] definitely more focused, and it’s sometimes more fun, but it’s a lot more pressure than the main stage, because in main stage you can get away with a lot more than you can in [repertory theatre].”
