Musical cuts loose to bring rebellion of dance to stage
Ren has moved from the windy city of Chicago: Teen Edition and made his way to Bomont. The musical version of the 1980’s classic arrived at the Alberta Kimball Auditorium in West Choir’s annual musical, transporting audience members to the melodic madness of Footloose.
The work that the pit, cast, and crew put in from auditions to opening night was tireless. There are countless responsibilities for every person involved in staging a production. Choir director Bethany Meyer is a veteran of various struggles that students, and herself, have faced in preparing for showtime.
“It’s always so crazy. We start with auditions and then it’s learning music, learning blocking, dancing and then putting it all together,” she said “And this year we seemed really rushed and we lost a week because of how late Thanksgiving was.”
Similarly, the pit orchestra begins working long before the first performance, according to band teacher and pit conductor for Footloose, Daniel Singer.
“We start rehearsing in November. We use resources to help us learn the music because it’s a lot for an instrumentalist to learn and then in January we put it together with the cast and in the band and we begin to get used to each other,” he said. “And then in about a week after that, we join the cast in the auditorium and all the magic starts to happen.”
The size of the pit this year differs greatly from pits in the past due to its ‘Still Rockin’ size. Having fewer people, according to Singer, has not halted their progress, however.
“It’s not necessarily difficult; it’s just different,” he said. “Last year we had a fairly large pit, and this year we have basically just a rock band and we have a larger number of adults involved because of the difficulty of the music.”
Diving deep into the town of Bomont and the characters within it also presented a challenge for students. Meyer appreciates the cast and its drive to portray characters with passion.
“My favorite part of this process is always seeing the students go from nothing to something with their characters,” she said. “They’ll take their character at their base layer and then they really dive deep and make great choices that really resonate on stage.”
Senior Julia Skinner, playing the lead role of Ariel Moore, enjoyed the way that her character grew leading up to the show.
“Ariel has a lot of confidence and a little bit of spunk to her,” she said. “I’ve been able to grow more confident in myself as I have been able to play her.”
Similarly, as junior Michael Smithson slipped into the robe of Reverend Shaw Moore, he had to generate some turmoil to identify with his character.
“He’s a guy that is dealing with a lot in his life. He lost his son and he blames dancing for it so he makes a law that bans it,” he said. “Usually I sit alone and I think deep and dark thoughts to get into the shoes of Reverend Moore.”
Junior Sam Kuerschner played Ren McCormack, an outsider just arriving from Chicago. Kuerschner’s acting chops have grown since first being cast in the part.
“With acting, it’s not just saying my lines,” he said. “This is only my second musical and I haven’t had a lot of experience, but I’ve found that you have to react to what people are saying and make sure that you’re having a conversation and not just saying what you’ve memorized.”
But growth doesn’t only occur on stage, according to Singer.
“I always enjoy seeing the students in the pit orchestra improving their skills,” he said. “They’re playing key signatures that are not normal for their instrument.”
Playing all of the woodwind instruments (baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, and the clarinet), senior Gwendolyn Volz encountered difficulties in preparing for the show.
“Pit music has always been and always will be challenging,” she said. “Especially with how small the pit is, there’s no real place to hide. It’s fun, but stressful.”
The story of any show, however, only truly comes to life with the set. Without it, characters simply spew lines and sing songs. Stage manager and senior Elizabeth Bird had various responsibilities as she performed behind the curtain.
“I was in charge of all the run crew and I told them where stuff goes and when it needed to go there. I was also in charge of light cues and just making sure everything backstage ran smoothly,” she said. “Not knowing what I’m doing and having this be my first year doing it was definitely a difficulty of mine. Also not having a lot of direction and just having to figure things out on the spot.”
Musical theatre offers a sense of community, according to Meyer.
“It’s always really interesting to see how they come in and everyone is so scared to talk to each other during those first few rehearsals and they’re just so quiet and awkward,” she said. “I love to see the camaraderie and the friendships that grow while the musical is happening.”
Skinner, with over 40 shows under her belt, felt all of the warmth and love being around her friends.
“I love being able to be around such a nice community and people that care about me,” she said.
Kuerschner’s favorite parts of the musical stemmed from being around the people he loves while performing.
“I have a lot of fun singing and dancing with my friends and putting out all my energy on stage,” he said. “It really brings the life out of me and the people around me.”
In contrast to his ‘bad boy’ character of Chuck Cranston, senior Mike Kerkhoff relished in the duality of his role.
“Dancing in a group is so much fun. My character doesn’t really like dancing but I really appreciate that Mrs. Meyer still allowed me to dance in some of the bigger group numbers,” he said. “It’s almost like I get to be different characters at different times.”
The show also broke free from some of the negative stereotypes attached to students in theatre, according to Kerkhoff.
“It really shows the versatility of theatre kids. I think theatre kids are sometimes viewed as really serious but this show was just a bunch of kids having fun,” he said.
Footloose, although slightly racy and fun in some aspects, also becomes a story of hardships within a family dynamic, according to Skinner.
“It’s a really fun show and it has a lot of fun songs and dances. But it still has that deep element to it and it deals with darker themes, which is important,” she said. “It deals with parents who are looking out for their kids but it just leads them to be more rebellious, and it shields them from the world.”
Junior Jacob Schaefer, who portrayed the mama lovin’ and slightly dumb Willard Hewitt, also noticed the adaptability of the show.
“It’s fit for all ages. The adults got the jokes and the kids got some of the jokes,” he said. “A lot of people grew up watching the movie and the musical is a good representation of it through song and dance.”
Meyer is proud of her student’s talents.
“So I'm always in awe of the amount of things that students can do,” she said. “I think that’s also one of my favorite parts of the process is I think of myself as an adult, like, could I do that? Could I memorize all this stuff?”
Singer agrees.
“People often underestimate what high school students can do and can achieve, and this is a good example of what they can achieve at a high level,” he said.
by Anika Flores
Published February 3rd, 2025
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV