Theater students work hard to prepare musical

Lairen Brush

Chinook Writer

Much like the rest of the ensemble in the Theater Department at Casper College, Ella Meyer, a student for the theater student, and Richard Burk, an instructor for the theater performance degree, are preparing for the upcoming play adaptation of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which will run April 18 through the 27. 

Some students, like Meyer, did not have much theater experience prior to attending Casper College.  They mainly participated in underfunded high school programs that didn’t accurately represent how a professional production should run.  For instance, the shift to the college stage meant going from unstructured tryouts to a more professional feel. Meyer said she finds the tryouts at CC challenging.

In CC’s theater department, students are also part of the greater cast, such as assistant stage managers among other positions. The Lightning Thief is a student cast, with the exception  of the five-piece accompanying orchestra as it will include both local musicians and students.

With the upcoming release, the passion and dedication of the actors and crew is strong despite the production’s strain on their schedules.  

“You don’t really have time to socialize,” Meyer said. “And you only socialize with your cast. And if there’s a problem within the cast, there’s just a problem.” 

Due to the amount of work required for a play, theater students don’t really interact with classmates outside the Theater Department during this time. For instance, the participants in the Lightning Thief rehearse for nearly six weeks before opening week, and even have a guest choreographer coming to help them.

Students and staff alike all handle the stress differently. Some are stressed at the time of the auditions while others feel stressed in the middle of the process when the time necessary for the production conflicts with midterms and assignments in other classes. Some are stressed throughout the entire process.  Despite this, Burk said all that stress is hidden once the play begins as the theater program seems to bring out something in the students, giving them an outlet to be extroverted when they normally wouldn’t be.  

“I’m definitely extroverted,” Meyer said. “I’ve always been extroverted and really loud.” 

This trend is not normal outside of theater classes. 

“In a new class, I won’t talk to anyone, like any class outside of theater classes that I have,”  Meyer said.

However, Burk said the theater department gives students an opportunity to express themselves differently as he believes most of the theater students are introverted, even if they deny it, but then act out in a very extroverted way by being very outgoing in their performances.

Richard Burk said, “And, of course, they’re anxious to make sure they’re expressing the thoughts behind the Lightning Thief, which I think has to do with fitting in, feeling like you can’t fit in, feeling like the world doesn’t recognize you for who you are.”

Burk said he believes the theater department is helpful to students within the major as “it prepares them to move forward in the industry in preparing for a career,” but that doesn’t mean the theater program only benefits those in the major.  

“The benefit for people who are not majors is that everything we do is geared towards becoming comfortable and capable in the moment and in the presence of others… They are often willing to speak their mind, and I find often that students who are not involved in theater are not quite as ready to speak their mind,” Burk said.

Meyer, while she does not wish to pursue a future in theater as an actor, does wish to hopefully teach the subject and skills later in life.

The Lightning Thief opens April 18. Burk encourages attendance. 

“Because it’s going to be great fun,” he said.