LHS Musical In Motion
BY IRIS KROUSE — Staff Writer
BY ANGELICA BAUTISTA — Videographer
Each year, the Lebanon High School Music Department blows away the viewers of its riveting annual musical. The applause of the crowd can be heard in every inch of the school. The passion and intrigue the performers put into each show is contagious to the audience. Some would even say that the performance of the LHS students is equivalent to that of a Broadway show. However, many people who have never been involved in a musical production themselves have no concept of what goes into such a performance.
Mr. Mark Naimoli, the director of the musical, had plenty to share about the process of building a production here at LHS. Naimoli specifically spoke about the aspects of putting on a musical. “Lot’s of time, lot’s of energy, and a lot of different people.”
Mrs. Megan Heefner, the blocking director, adds to this,“Three things; time, hard work, and lot’s of energy.” So it seems like one of the main characteristics of a great musical production is the energy of the performers.
The musical is really so much more than just some talented singers displaying their voices. It is not only the singing, but the numbers of people involved, the characters, and the story being told. Motivating students to truly BE their character is very challenging for the directors. The directors and students both face many obstacles in perfecting the vision of the LHS musical.
Mrs. Heefner described the challenges of creating a musical production. “I think that it’s difficult to keep all of the students interested all of the time, so Mr. Naimoli, and I stress that the ensemble is what makes the show so great. But sometimes, if the ensemble isn’t on stage, they lose interest. So, having them keep their energy at a level that makes the audience be engaged the entire time is sometimes a bit of a struggle, especially during long Saturday rehearsals.”
Catalina Cruz, a experienced LHS musical performer, agrees with the acting and character energy being a struggle. “Some of the biggest challenges that we, as performers face when putting on the musical is really connecting with the character. Like, you have do to your research on who the characters is and why they are doing the things they do and how to do those things and how to represent them on stage.”
Mr. Naimoli shared similar thoughts on this concept. “I think it becomes challenging; especially something as intricate as a musical. You have to sing. You have to dance. You have to do the acting. You have to put all the lines in at the same time or at the correct time. On top of all that, you’re also attempting to tell a story which adds to the challenges.”
Choosing a musical that incorporates and impacts the students involved along with the viewers also is a huge part of the production process. Mr. Naimoli explained, “Over the summer, our staff goes back and forth with different ideas on what shows we might want to do for the school year. Once we do that we go through the casting process which involves auditions and callbacks as to see which students are best for which individual parts.”
Mr. Naimoli went onto explain the steps after choosing the musical and what part the director along with the students play in this facet. “After that, we start by learning the music and then after we learn the music, we start to add some of the blocking which is how the characters move around on stage when they are acting together. And then, one of the last pieces is the choreography.”
Choreography is such a crucial piece of the musical production. Our school hires Judy Williams, a dance instructor at Movement Laboratory to specifically help with the dance and movement of the performers. Mrs. Heefner is the blocking directer, directing the students on where to step when singing and acting on stage.
Catalina described the things she believes viewers often don’t see when observing the show. “I’d say, some of the things that go unseen are definitely the hours upon hours that we put into perfecting choreography and learning the music. Like the ins and outs of how the show works, and besides all of that, the lighting crew and our stage directors and all of them. They all have such an important role. We could not put on the show without them and their contribution to it, so they definitely deserve more credit than they get.”
Mrs. Heefner added to Catalina’s point saying, “I think that a lot of people don’t realize just how many people work behind the scenes of a show, and so it really takes an entire village of people to make the production, the finished product that the audience actually sees. So, there’s so many small details that go into perfecting a show and kind of bringing it to life hat a lot of times. People that have never been in a show before don’t realize just how much time and energy and effort it take on the part of so many different people.”
Mr. Naimoli added, “Once we have all three of those things in there we start to add things like costumes, makeup, and then all the technology which would be like the microphones, sound, the lighting. We start to add set pieces and all that stuff. It’s a lot. It’s a long process which is why we start in November to get ready for a show in March.”
Mr. Bruce Barry, in charge if the lighting, sound, and special effects of the musical, spoke about the process of creating the sound and lighting of the musical. The planning begins with Mr. Naimoli and Mr. Barry sitting down to talk about ideas for the lighting based on aspects of the musical such as the mood of the moment, the type of actions, and the music and dancing occurring. After Mr. Barry has a general idea of what kinds of lighting they need, he starts programming the lighting of the show.
The program of the lighting is made before the show, but sound is the opposite. Sound needs to be monitored all throughout the show, with mics being turned on and off as the performers go on and off the stage. There are certain instruments in the orchestra that are miced and speakers are put up all around the building for the performers, audience, and musicians. Of course there would be no music to amplify if it weren’t for Colin McGrory, the pit conductor. Some of the specific special effects used in the musical are fog, haze, flash pots, and other more expensive equipment. Their is also scene design and set building, which Kate Stetson and Kris Turner manage. Costumes, hair, and makeup are done by Susan Atkinson. All the different kinds of special effects incorporated into the musical help to shape the beautiful production seen in the LHS Auditorium each year.
The musical takes up so much of the performers, designers, and special effects people’s time. In the end, it is completely and utterly worth the trouble. The contributors to the musical confess that there is nothing more rewarding and satisfactory than the finished production being presented to an audience. Mrs. Heefner explained,“I think just seeing the finished product. I’m sure that’s what all of the students would say too. And seeing the joy that it brings to our students; the way that they are able to experience something new and how much fun they end up having even though it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of time on their part. In the end, they all seem to have such an amazing experience and that’s what we are really trying to build at our school: is this great program that kids year after year want to be a part of and knowing that it’s kind of a lasting legacy of the school and it’s something that we are all, that we’re really known for in our area, for putting on a great musical. So, knowing that we’re doing that year after year is probably the best part for me.”
Mr. Naimoli explains the pleasure and pride that he, along with his students find in the yearly musical production. “I would say the most rewarding part of putting on the musical is the end product. We put in a lot of blood sweat and tears for months on end and you know, you’re with the same people for a long, long time working really hard on something. Then finally, at the end, you get, you know, a thousand people in the auidience that are cheering and yelling for you. And, you know, you get a lot of satisfaction knowing that you did a really great job and created something really cool.”
Catalina Cruz puts this in more simple terms. “Oh my goodness. The most rewarding part of putting on the musical is showtime. Seeing all our hard work and all of the effort and blood, sweat, and tears that we put into performing finally be put on for a big audience and having the cheering and the clapping at the end. It’s the most rewarding experience ever.”
So, the LHS musical: It satisfies all around…the students, performers, teachers, directors, designers, and most importantly…the audience! The musical production continues to grow as more and more students devote a section of their lives, their high school career, rather, in building the marvelous, spectacular, and remarkable Lebanon High School musical. Make sure you attend 2022’s “Once On This Island” spring performance by the talented students of LHS.
