High school musical theater In Our Hands Now!
an original high school musical by
E. Sandy Powell  &  Mick Terry

ADAPTABILITY
(PART 2)

2 of 3

When the production at Gold Beach High School lost some members more than halfway through the rehearsal schedule, it was important that those remaining -- who were super committed -- be able to go "on with the show." So a Reader was enlisted to fill the missing parts. Tim Scullen is well-known in the community, with "a voice" of the tenor you'd like to hear on the radio.

Tim came to rehearsals for the final weeks. For performances, he stood on stage, in street clothes, with a music stand to hold the script (so he could easily exit when his characters weren't on). To the audience's delight, Tim switched voices, so it was easy to tell the difference between the characters he read.

The actors did not look at Tim while he read his lines; they looked at where the character would normally be on stage. This helped the audience focus on the action and worked easily for the cast as they had been playing opposite "ghost" characters off and on anyway when one or the other of the cast was excused to another required event throughout rehearsals. The players were even able to pull off a fight scene with ghost actors.

Since the intent was made clear in the welcoming statements beforehand, the audience had no objection to less than a full cast. In fact, after the Opening Night "packed house," the show went on with good crowds for the remainder of the run, on the isolated southern Oregon coast.

Take heart from Gold Beach's success. If you go on, no matter what, you'll teach a life lesson to the cast and community on how to surmount obstacles. And the audience will admire your chutzpah!


Matching ethnicities
As stated in the list of characters, we are open to the students/director changing characters' names (except Dezha and Tabitha) to suit the ethnic and racial distinction of your cast. (Note: stick with the same beginning letters in order to match Mr. Turner's word game.)

 In Our Hands Now!  intentionally speaks for the "odd" kids, regardless of geographic or cultural departure from whatever is considered "mainstream." In your program, simply list Maggie, AKA _______ played by ______, to allow the connection to other students who will be playing that particular character across the country.


The Band:

Size
What? No orchestra or band?
Use the CD instrumental version.
Or assemble a small band and have a keyboard player or two play string parts, French horn parts, etc.
Or use the CD instrumental for some songs, your band for others.
Or have some musicians or your small band play along with the CD instrumental to enhance the sound.
There are all kinds of ways to make it work!


Expand the Spotlight:

Adults and kids alike have reported "the songs get stuck in your head." Use the familiarity to your benefit. Expand your "theater." Allow parents or other volunteers to schedule preview performances of the music. Showcase particular musicians (perhaps those not usually in the spotlight) to take select songs to adult care facilities, service club meetings, other community events. Or encourage a high school senior who is particularly interested in (or in need of) community service to organize this music outreach, perhaps taking a few singers and musicians to shut-ins.

This, and any resultant coverage, will whet the community's interest in your show, and could give your second-chair students a chance to shine too. And it will give the performers a grounding of two key songs, What You Put Into the World and In Our Hands Now so that they're better able to sing from their experience.


Involve the Kids in Putting on the Show:

At the time, it seemed the Gold Beach High production was doomed, since it also lost a number of key adult participants early on in the production process. Adults especially are overworked, in a school of such small size.

It turned out though, that the lack of adults actually boosted the show because the cast members had to fill in, to help with directing, publicity, etc. Their input, their involvement, created ownership across the board. And of course, the title worked well to lighten a discouraging moment, "I guess it's in our hands now!"

A high schooler, in this case a highly skilled petite sophomore, Jana Meszaros, who for years has actually choreographed for recitals (as well as at home and in her sleep), stepped up to fill the huge vacated role of Choreographer. Because she didn't get time prior to auditions to plan the full production, she worked through the numbers, one dance at a time (with Producer's support/feedback), and then she taught that dance to the performers at the weekly dance sessions.

Jana had been involved in dance classes all her life, so the "5, 6, 7, 8!" came naturally. Her passion, and the kids' appreciation, kept the cast working hard to perfect difficult numbers.

Since  In Our Hands Now!  does have 13 songs, most of them also dance numbers, Jana ended up having the soloists work on their own dances, with her review. Together they were able to accomplish the full choreography in a compacted timeframe.

The cast members being forced to take ownership for their dances actually worked to the show's benefit, because each player had a chance to personally develop his or her own character, through acting, singing and dancing.

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[ Hands logo - Daemion Lee ]
[ Graphics enhancement - Jared Johnson ]

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Copyright © 2003   E. Sandy Powell   &   Mick Terry