The theater has been one of the most cherished sources of entertainment since the dawn of time. Whether it’s Shakespeare or Spielberg, the elements of drama illuminate people’s passions and cure their boredom. This has opened a door for many individuals to share their dramatic talents, including one of Central’s finest, the Drama Club.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, the Drama Club began auditioning for their upcoming show The SpongeBob Musical. The musical won’t be taking place until March, but the club has already begun preparing for those dates. Resource teacher Sarah Dakin, the club sponsor, touched on what preparations they have been making and how the production is going.
“We’ve been having a really good time so far. We rehearse three or four times a week. We’ve started costuming a little bit, we’ve costumed about half of the pirates so far. We’ve all sat down to read and listen to the script together. It’s a nice jump on getting the process going and it’s just so fun because we have so many people whom this is their biggest role they’ve had or a couple of people who haven’t done much of anything yet,” Dakin explained.
She added that all of the cast members besides senior Austin Mays, who is playing Spongebob, will be playing more than one character. Students from East Hardin Middle School’s Drama Club will also be featured in the musical, as well as special guest security guards.
Speaking of Austin Mays, he’s also been proud of their progress so far and has been working hard to get into character. It seems that Mays is a perfect precedent for what the rest of the cast members are working up to.
“I feel like everything has been going well and that everyone involved is giving their all to make it a show worth seeing. Being the lead role in the show has been pretty nerve-wracking for me, but I feel like I am making the character my own. I have made a routine I follow every day to make sure that I am ready and prepared for any practice I’ll have. This includes having a solid sleep schedule to feel alert, warming up both my voice and body, and eating well so I have the energy required,” Mays said.
It’s clear from both a student and teacher perspective, that the club is working hard to affirm a quality production. They’re putting forth all effort to ensure they can bring life to the childhood classic.
Despite the show’s raging popularity, Dakin was not initially a fan of the nautical sponge. She expressed what inspired her to take on the project and what she’s most looking forward to accomplishing.
“For me, it was hearing the music. The music was written by tons of different artists, not only musical theater people but pop artists like John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, and even a couple members of Aerosmith. I started learning the music and then after seeing a couple of productions of it I just thought it was such a cool story of how everybody brings their strengths together to do something you thought you couldn’t do, which is basically what we [Drama Club] do every time we do a production. Everyone has to pull those parts together,” she said.
Hopefully, the continuation of the project will go as planned and they can put on a performance everyone will enjoy. Just like the loveable cartoon itself, the musical is sure to bring a smile to audience members alike. It is a comedy, after all.
The musical will take place at the PAC where they will be performing a total of three shows: a morning show at 10 and an evening show at 7 on Mar. 8, then a matinee at 4 on Mar. 9.
