As the school year begins, the fall musical, “Footloose”, kicks off with its rehearsal process.
“Footloose” is a story about a boy named Ren McCormack who moves from Chicago to a small, rural town called Bomont where dancing isn’t allowed.
Compared to other musicals, “Footloose” is heavily centered around singing and dancing. This means more choreography and more songs the actors have to learn. This can prove difficult for all actors, whether new or experienced.
“Footloose” is being choreographed by four different people, three of them are students. Many actors, like senior Logan Koester who plays Ren, find it hard to make sure all the dances they are learning stay clean and memorized.
“It’s frustrating, because right after you learn something you learn something else and you go back to one, [then] back to another,” Koester said. “Knowing that tomorrow you have a whole new dance to learn [can be a lot].”
These difficulties can prove challenging to overcome, especially while trying to balance the life of being a student and taking time for yourself. This stress can also be enhanced depending on each actor’s role.
“It’s hard to know that I’m not able to work as much [as I’d like] and do all my homework,” Koester said. “I [also] feel like when you’re the lead, you’re expected to teach other people what they should [already] know.”
Despite facing difficulties with the choreography, the cast is showcasing an incredible opportunity to overcome the struggles involved in the singing present in “Footloose.”
Sophomore Charlie Barrett expands on her perspective of singing as a student director.
“Singing and vocal rehearsals are going well right now because the cast can [now] sing without [using the] sheet music,” Barrett said. “It makes me proud that they have gotten so far in a short amount of time.”
