In the past two years, the Leesville theater department has put on Annie and The Sound of Music, both well-known heartwarming stories. For this year’s musical, they were looking for something more modern.
Mean Girls was the perfect fit because it offered several lead female roles for the talented actresses in their department.
The theater department was challenged with learning new skills and embodying complex characters.
“For one scene as Damion, I had to learn how to tap dance, which I had never done before,” said Tanner Elmore, sophomore.
“As Cady, it was hard to embody a character who changed so much throughout the story. I had to show those transitions by using certain words and body language,” said Emily Gagan, junior.
“This is a more modern and expressive musical than we’ve done before…on the tech side, we had more locations and quick scene changes,” said Nina Alan, sophomore.
The actors were not the only ones working hard.
In Mean Girls, the first act alone had 20 different locations. With no blackouts, the tech crew had to make lighting and set changes quickly and quietly while the actors were still on stage.
From the day they announced Mean Girls, the excitement was contagious. Students sunk their teeth into complex characters like Regina and Cady and sang along to songs like Stupid with Love.
Taking a risk and trying something new was worth it, and the directors say we can anticipate more modern musicals in the future.
