By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
This is an unusual year for the music and drama departments at Mahomet-Seymour High School.
Students and directors have been actively working on a presentation of Beauty and the Beast that will take place later this month.
Many of the acting roles have not one, but two, students ready to perform.
“The double casting is due to the amount of talent we have that comes out for the show,” director Jaise Allen said. “That is something we don’t do every year unless we have the ability to do so.”
This was one of those years.
When auditions were held in January, 75 high schoolers auditioned and more than 35 from the junior high also sought parts.
By double casting, 64 high school students and six from the junior high will have two nights in the spotlight.
The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 19th, 20th and 21st, with a 2 p.m. matinee on April 22nd.
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A full week is set aside for auditions in January. It’s a well-orchestrated event.
“The students are allowed to audition for two parts of their choosing, and they may be chosen to audition for more at the call-backs based on where we might see a fit as judges,” Allen said. “We even have some girls audition for male roles and that is okay with us as long as the character can be accurately portrayed.
“Plus, I love to see the kids take those chances and step out of their comfort zone.”
The first day of auditions is limited to dancing. The Tuesday and Wednesday portions are devoted to auditions for parts, with Thursday set aside for call-backs. The Friday session is for junior high tryouts.
Allen and his wife, Darcy (the choreographer) give the students a chance to be prepared.
“We give them the audition material about a week ahead of time so they have time to read it and memorize it if they wish before the auditions come around,” Jaise Allen said.
Not everything, however, can be studied in advance.
“At the audition, they will learn the choreography on the spot and audition the same day,” Jaise Allen said.
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Many students took advantage of the opportunity to seek multiple parts in hopes they would wind up with something.
Junior Caleb Jared auditioned for the roles of the Beast and Gaston.
His hope was to play Gaston, even though the Beast is considered a more major role.
“I wanted to be cast as Gaston despite the fact that he’s not the ‘title character’ like Beast,” Jared said. “I say all this because in my few years being a part of this drama program, it’s become obvious to me that many rank the importance of roles based on how many times they appear on stage, the number of lines they have, the number of songs they sing, etc.
“In reality, the ensemble (for example) has the power to make or break key moments in shows that often become the most memorable. Just goes to show that there is an equal importance of everyone involved even if there isn’t always an equal workload.”
Jared felt Gaston could be suited for him personally.
“I was mainly intrigued by his passion and his commanding presence on stage,” Jared said. “He’s also the villain of this show and throughout my childhood I’ve always wanted to play the bad guy.”
Jared was ultimately one of two M-S students cast as Gaston, but emphasized he would not have been disappointed to have acted as the Beast.
“I did still audition for Beast because I love his songs and thought they would be good audition material,” Jared said. “And who wouldn’t want to waltz around in that Beast makeup?”
Senior Gabe Fulk sought just one part and didn’t leave auditions with a high degree of confidence that he had impressed the judges.
“The only role I thought would mesh well with me was the Beast so that is the only role I auditioned for,” Fulk said. “Due to the chaotic nature of the tryouts, those auditioning for the Beast, myself included, did the reading portion together in the same room at about 9:30 p.m. that night.
“Personally, I hadn’t felt confident after it was over because I felt the other people auditioning had done better than I had on that portion.”
Sophomore Neenah Williams has participated in M-S musicals since she was in fifth grade.
She read for both the roles of Belle and Babette.
“I had hope, but I also had fear as a sophomore,” Williams said. “I was being put up against some of my best friends. I think that was the hardest part about auditions.
“However, I knew how hard I worked during these auditions and was hopeful about getting a lead at least.”
She was selected as one of the two Belles.
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Making decisions at the auditions is often a difficult task, made tougher because there’s not time for an in-depth analysis of each candidate, according to Jaise Allen.
“Generally we are looking for strong singers, since it is a musical,” he said. “We look for the ability to be flexible and take chances in the reading part of the audition.
“We love when kids come to audition with their material memorized. The great part about these auditions is that every year kids get to start fresh. They can come back to a new show with a refreshed mindset and renewed interest.
“Every show is different and requires different attributes and strengths.”
As for the lead roles in Beauty and the Beast, some specific attributes were required.
“This year we had to find Beasts with strong vocal ability who have the stamina to be able to carry this role through all of the Beast’s anger and growling, and still be able to sing a beautiful, taxing song at the end of the first act,” Allen said. “Belle, we had to look for vocal flexibility because she sings several songs, and they all have their difficulties.
“Gaston requires a voice that could sound more pompous through both his acting and singing. These are just the vocal qualities. We haven’t even touched on the acting qualities. So there is a lot that goes into the process that we as judges have to figure out and we only get a couple minutes with each kid before we make that decision.”
Jared is learning about the multitude of requirements to pull off a successful performance as Gaston.
“Gaston’s a very ego-driven character and as such he is constantly showing off during his moments on stage,” Jared said. “This includes anything from flexing through dialogue to rarely making eye contact with the other characters on stage because he’s either admiring himself or interacting with the audience.
“The latter is especially difficult to stay in control of as it is contrary to typical stage acting. I also have to conserve my voice for my songs, which isn’t easy as a character who practically yells most of the show.”
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Junior Nate Douglas sees himself out of character as one of two students chosen to play the Beast.
“I’ve always been good at being the funny guy in the show, but being the Beast is much more serious,” Douglas said. “My director and I really work together closely to find the character and the hurt in all the lines and what he is going through.
“Losing myself in the brokenness of the Beast is tough. Jaise Allen (the director and Douglas’ vocal coach) is amazing and has brought out an acting part of me I did not think I had. I always love a good challenge.”
All roles have challenges and Fulk said as he prepares for his third high school musical, that is especially true of the Beast.
“The hardest part about playing the Beast is the constant need for attention to detail,” Fulk said. “I’m always having to think about how the Beast would appear with body language, his expressions, and the emotional delivery required for different lines.
“It’s difficult because while also having to remember lines, dances, and songs, I also have to be constantly thinking about how I’m presenting myself, which takes a lot of multitasking.”
Williams said the range of emotions needed to make the role believable is her toughest task.
“Having to show such raw emotion on stage has to be the most challenging part,” Williams said. “Whether it’s a meaningful kiss, a cry for help, or watching the love of your life die, there’s so much emotion that goes into this show.
“Belle especially goes through an array of emotions, which comes to no surprise, but it can be very overwhelming. Emotion is what brings the show to life. If you mess up just one time, you can ruin everything.
“Emotion is definitely the key and the most stressful part of acting.”
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Rehearsals are scheduled four nights a week, for three hours per night, but build up to five nights for 3 1/2 hours each night following Spring Break.
The time together during the nearly three months of practice helps create a cast closeness.
“Many of these people aren’t individuals I see every day, so the opportunity to be surrounded by this inclusive community is always exciting,” Jared said. “Plus, they’re the best people to sit around and sing show tunes with. I’ll never pass up an opportunity to do that.”
Fulk said it may sound like a cliche, but he welcomes the camaraderie.
“My favorite part of musicals is the bonds and friendships that form throughout the process,” Fulk said. “The cast spends so much time together in practices and even outside of practices that we really do become one big family.”
Williams said she cherishes the new acquaintances.
“Throughout the months of rehearsals you create new friendships, new memories, and broaden your musical abilities,” Williams said. “Musicals allow you to get in touch with your acting and singing abilities through different emotions that you may never experience in real life.
“Sometimes it can be a challenge, but it’s more of an overall learning experience. The directors, cast, and crew, put so much effort into this show. Being able to see the final results and how everything flows together in the end is such a fulfilling experience.”
Douglas said the rush he feels during musicals eclipses anything he has felt in sports.
“I enjoy working with my castmates a whole lot, but my favorite part of the musical would have to be the growth I see in the show,” Douglas said. “My own performance gets better and better and my castmates do as well.
“No feeling matches the feeling of bringing a crowd to their feet. I could dunk a thousand basketballs or win state three times with my cross-country team, and it wouldn’t match that feeling of knocking the socks off of the crowd.”
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Jaise Allen, whose full-time day job is as a bank manager in Rantoul, said there are no hard feelings for students who have conflicts and miss a rehearsal.
“I don’t have everyone every night,” he said. “We try our best to schedule around other events that the kids have and encourage them to be a part of something else as well.
“Some take private lessons, some dance, some are in sports, etc. I love well-rounded students and wouldn’t ask them to give something up to be a part of our show.
“I just want kids who have a passion for theater and want to carve out some time out of their busy schedule to come be weird and act like Disney characters for a while.”
A former M-S student himself, Allen is well-versed in the Beauty and the Beast script.
“I was in this show at the community level in 2008 for Champaign-Urbana Theater Company and I played the Beast,” Allen said. “I fell in love with this show and I am grateful to be a part of it once again. This time, I’m really excited to be on the directing side and watch these kids grow and develop a love for the show and blossom into their characters through this long, but very rewarding, 12-week journey.”
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Among those who will be performing when the curtain goes up are Fulk and Douglas as the Beast. The Belles are junior Rachel Silvey and Williams. Gaston is played by both junior Justin Smith and Jared.
There are many additional significant roles, such as Lumiere, who is the candlestick and played by junior Kiel Ledin and freshman Kade Kinnamon. Cogsworth, who is the clock, is played by junior Clayton Bartlett and sophomore Kyle Kinnamon.
Mrs. Potts is the teapot and is played by seniors Sydnie Walsh and Lauren Gilonske. Maurice (Belle’s father) is played by sophomores Josh Cubberley and Malcolm Mills.
“There are many lead characters and several of them have solos and many, many lines,” Jaise Allen said. “Between cast and crew, we have over 100 students involved.”
Crew members have assorted duties: hair, makeup, lights, sounds, stage, props and construction.
Jared said everyone involved deserves a round of hardy applause.
“My favorite part of musical is and will always be the variety of people that get involved,” Jared said. “There’s a really great spectrum of people with unique talents that are required to pull off a musical from the technical and artistic know-how of our crews, the instrumental technique of our pit, to the convincing performances put on by our cast.”
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For Darcy Allen, this is the 33rd musical she has choreographed and the 10th at the high school. She also choreographed Beauty and the Beast at M-S in 2009.
“The choreography for this show has a few intricate numbers,” Darcy Allen said. “ ‘Be our Guest’ is eight minutes long, so keeping it interesting for the audience, working with 40 people on stage in large costumes, and layering groups doing different choreography has its difficulties at times.
“Gaston is also another number we’ve had to work extra on due to the long dance break of intricate choreography that incorporates mugs. We always challenge our students with difficult choreography and they always rise to that challenge.”
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Tickets can be purchased online through the website, www.mshsdrama.booktix.com and are priced at $12 apiece.
Also this year, light-up roses are for sale for $5. There will be a moment during the show where everyone can light up their roses together.
