Director Allison Enneking wants the community to see how much her high school theater students have put their hearts and souls into their upcoming performance of “Little Women.”
“I just want them to see that we have such talented kids here in our district,” Enneking said. “Unlike sporting events when you see weekly progress, our audience doesn’t see our weekly progress. They don’t get to see how much we’ve grown from Day 1 to the production. They just get to see the finished product.”
Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 11 and 13 and for 2 p.m. Nov. 14. There isn’t a performance Friday, Nov. 12, to prevent a potential conflict with football.
Students and Enneking have been hard at work since late August, when the musical was announced and auditions were held.
Junior Natalie Karten, who will play female lead Jo March, said the work began with the music.
“So, getting comfortable with songs, especially our solos because we wouldn’t work on those as much. And then memorizing lines as well as having Mrs. Enneking doing all of our blocking. We’d write notes of where she wants us to be and practice all of that while we’re at home and here,” Karten said.
In many cases, students are also juggling other extra-curricular activities in addition to theater practice.
“We really try to coordinate schedules with the athletic department and hold rehearsals after practices,” Enneking said. “We’ve got some dedicated hardworking kids who are coming into rehearsal dripping in sweat after playing through a game or giving their all in practice and then they come to musical rehearsal on top of it.”
Sophomore Kason Lamont plays Professor Friedrich Bhaer in the show. Karten and Lamont said the best part about rehearsals is getting Enneking’s approval.
“Basically, just getting a scene down without the book and getting the approval through Mrs. Enneking,” Lamont said.
However, Enneking said it is the exact opposite for her. She said the best part for her is watching the recognition on a student’s face when they get the line right.
“It’s such a long process that sometimes they forget to see the long game, they forget to see that end goal. They have that kind of realization that wow, we did it, that’s pretty special,” Enneking said.
While this will be Enneking’s fourth musical with the district, Karten and Lamont said they are not rookies either. Karten said she has done three musicals in her high school career while Lamont said he had done four in middle school.
And now, the payoff is just days away. While it can be nerve wracking to be up in front of an audience, Karten and Lamont said it is arguably the most exciting part.
“The nerves are different from when you’re in an empty auditorium to when it’s full,” Karten said. “That’s why I’m glad our first show is seniors so they’re not as harsh as a regular audience would be so you’re able to get your nerves out the first day and the shows after that are better.”
There will be a special show for senior citizen residents in the community Nov. 11. Seniors will be served lunch through the high school and will get a special dress rehearsal performance of the show afterward.
Tickets for this showing are free, but spots are limited so RSVPs should be sent to [email protected] by this Thursday, Nov. 4.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and most of us have adopted our characters, so the feeling that is being portrayed on stage is a feeling we’re actually having, Karten said. “When certain things happen, the tears that are coming are real. Like it’s emotion that’s happening inside of me, not just something I’m putting on.”
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for K-12 students and can be purchased at the door or reserved by contacting Enneking at [email protected].
Reach reporter Sarah Motter at [email protected].
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