Chris and Clay Bartlett gain confidence through madrigals and drama

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com

It all started with the wind sweeping down the plain.

And, for Mahomet-Seymour High School seniors Chris and Clay Bartlett, it will end with the epic story of a man who fought for his sister, his life and his country.

But there are more stories to be told inside and around this journey for the twins.

For example, the Mahomet-Seymour Drama Director Jaise Allen has come full circle in his story of playing Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” at Mahomet-Seymour High School his senior year (2006) to directing the play at Mahomet-Seymour High School in 2019.

Their first memory of knowing they wanted to be on stage came during their sixth-grade year at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High when the students walked to the high school to preview the spring production of “Oklahoma.”

“We said, ‘Mom! We have to go back!’ ” Clay said.

And they did go back for the next six years.

Although the boys had to sit in the audience for the production of “Mary Poppins” their eighth-grade year because they were too tall to be cast in the children’s choir, Clay and Chris participated in the spring musical, “Oliver,” their seventh-grade year.

As freshmen and sophomores, the boys, who had “some” dancing talent, were part of the dance ensemble for the Addams Family and Grease.

But it was the work they were doing behind the scenes in choir that gave them the chance to play major roles their junior and senior years.

“I had a very quiet voice,” Clay said. “I didn’t want to be heard by anyone because I didn’t think that my sound was good enough.”

Clay said he was just as quiet talking as he was singing.

“I was definitely one who never talked to anyone and didn’t want anyone to talk to me because I was really socially awkward and didn’t like to talk to people,” Clay said.

Chris took a different approach in trying to make friends.

“I first started off trying to be goofy and funny to make friends,” Chris said. “That didn’t really work because that isn’t what everyone likes, and that’s understandable.”

While the boys did not make the Madrigal ensemble as freshmen, they still participated in choir.

The disappointment of not making it the first year was tough, but, through the guidance of their parents, Chris and Clay learned some important lessons that have carried them through the next three years of performing.

Their parents, Jennifer and Andrew Bartlett, told the boys, “you can’t get down about things you can’t control.”

“I’ve followed that advice ever since,” Clay said. “It has really helped me.”

Picking themselves back up, Clay and Chris learned the art of acting through song under the direction of now-retired Mahomet-Seymour Music Director Jill Rinkel and her successor, Director Nicole Kuglich.

“If I had not been in Madrigals, I probably would not be as strong a singer as I am now,” Chris said. “It taught me a bit more than just sing very well, it taught me how to use my voice in different ways.”

“Madigals taught me to sing out because others have to rely on you as well,” Clay said. “So that built up my voice a lot more. And now I can sing really boomingly, like my dad.”

By singing in different languages, the students have to learn how to use their body to show the emotion portrayed in the song. They are also encouraged, especially in Madrigals, to interact with the singers standing next to them.

“You have to light up your eyes and look at people around you,” Chris said.

“It’s acting,” Clay said.

Both Clay and Chris said they needed the experience of acting through song to portray the characters they’ve been assigned in the annual musical as juniors and seniors.

As a junior, Chris was cast as Monsieur D’Arque in “Beauty and the Beast.” He said that by auditioning for the role that no one else was interested in, he set himself up to be included in a speaking role.

He learned to “go for the role you want, but also have a fall-back like a role that no one else would be thinking about.”

Clay took a similar approach, auditioning for Cogsworth.

“I tried out for a major role, which I never had done,” he said. “I just was like if I don’t make it, then, whatever.”

Clay’s audition for Cogsworth was uncontested, but the directors asked him to bring back others to audition with him. He did, and was cast as the worrisome clock that helps to transform Beauty and the Beast as they fall in love.

With the confidence that came from being on stage, Chris and Clay gained the confidence needed to audition for major roles in “Les Miserables” their senior year.

“So I said what the heck, I’ll try out for (Inspector) Javert,” Clay said.

Chris auditioned and was cast as Marius Pontmercy, a young college student who falls in love with Cosette.

“I wasn’t expecting that role. I was expecting a slightly lower role,” Chris said. “I’ve never got to play such a high-caliber character.”

As the cast began learning lines and putting together scenes, Chris learned that Marius is in the majority of the play.

“I wasn’t expecting how detailed and how many scenes Marius was involved in,” he said. “I’m in only one less song than Jean Valjean.”

To some, it may seem like Chris is on stage more than he is, though.

As identical twins, the boys have thought about how people will know their bodies have not been duplicated on stage.

The musical directors have a standard rule of putting family members in the same cast so that their parents don’t have to attend every showing. That rule has not produced two main characters who spend time on stage together, though.

Being on stage together in “Addams Family,” “Grease” and “Beauty and the Beast,” peers would come up to the boys after a performance and say, “I didn’t know you are a twin!”

In “Les Miserables,” people will see the ‘same person’ in a different costume on the stage at the same time,” Clay said.

“I don’t know if people would think for the first few times that we were the same person or not,” he continued.

They are used to it, though.

“It’s pretty fun,” Chris added.

The boys said they practice together at home, sometimes, but most of their practicing comes in the car as they sing together.

Clay has really worked on getting into the role of Javert.

“I know how to sing well, the emotion is what I really work on at home,” he said.

“I want to portray this or show the deeper meaning and express that.”

Chris said that he is really good at memorizing things on the spot, but putting emotions that he has never felt before has been difficult.

“Normally, that’s difficult to do without much of an instigator,” he said. “With this show, it’s taught me it’s not so much trying to feel sad constantly. It’s in the moment, you’re overwhelmed, then you get into the feeling.

“That’s what I’ve had to work on a lot.”

Near the end of the play, when the rebellion has lost its battle and Marius suffers the loss of Ebony, Chris said he struggles to find the emotion to portray grief.

“During that scene, I have to portray a feeling of loss,” Chris said. “And I’ve never experienced loss before. I still have all my grandparents and relatives. I haven’t experienced grief like that, so it’s a little difficult to portray that.”

The twins know how to get through difficult, though.

It has been through their experience of disappointment and life lessons, through listening to instruction and implementing it, from taking small steps into a major role, that they have built the confidence they need to move forward both on and off the stage.

Clay and Chris credit that to their parents, teachers and a drama program that is inclusive.

“I think I’m starting to come out of my shell a bit more. And it’s helping me out a lot more than just in the musical; it helps me in everyday life,” Clay said.

Chris added, “I think this program has definitely helped me learn how to make acquaintances and friends a lot easier than if I were just someone who was in the halls of the school. Having a group like this, and a group that doesn’t turn anyone away and always welcomes someone, is really great and probably what has made me so confident to try out for a major role.”

As the Bartletts get ready to step out of the halls of Mahomet-Seymour and look forward to their next adventure at Millikin University, they hope that other students learn from their story so that they can begin their own story, too.

“If you really want something, go for it,” Clay said. “And if you don’t get it, don’t be sad about it. Just go on with your life, it’s not the end of the world.”

The MSHS Drama program will perform “Les Miserables” on April 5 and 6 at 7 p.m., April 7 at 2 p.m., April 13 at 7 p.m. and April 14 at 2 p.m.