EHHS Drama Club Chooses The Addams Family for the Spring Musical

EHHS Drama Club has kicked off their spring 2023 season with auditions under way, officers chosen, and The Addams Family musical on deck for the April 13-15th production.

On December 29th, EHHS Drama Club announced through Instagram that they will be revealing their spring musical through a “countdown to show reveal.” This reveal occurred over the course of several days on the Drama Club Instagram story, where they listed several musicals including The Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, High School Musical, Seussical the Musical, and a few others. The first to be eliminated were Beauty and the Beast, the Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella. The last three remaining at the end of the reveal were The Sound of Music, The Addams Family, and Seussical the Musical. The final reveal was posted on January 6th, which included a video chat with cast members and Drama Club advisor, Ms. Kari Collins. Ms. Collins revealed that the spring musical for 2023 is The Addams Family. Ms. Collins said the idea for the countdown came from Drama Club members and a Tik Tok where other schools did an elimination too.

Ms. Collins and co-advisor, Ms. Leann Boisvert, chose The Addams Family this year because it had a fun ensemble and everyone had heard of it. She said that the popularity of the new Netflix show Wednesday had factored in, but was not the main reason why she chose it. Ms. Collins says that choosing a musical “takes a long time because there are many factors to think of.” She said it “must be something that is practical for sets, costumes, and props.” She also likes to think of what the Drama Club members request and most importantly wants a musical where the roles are fun for everyone, not just the leads. She runs her choice by EHHS Principal Mr. Vincent DeNuzzo as well to make sure he approves.

A very important part of putting on a musical is the application process. All musicals are owned by three big companies, so anyone who wants to do a musical must get accepted, send a contract, and pay the company that owns the musical. If any big theater close to the school is putting on the same musical, the company will notify the theater. The theater will decide if they are okay with the school performing the same musical.

After the application process, the directors need to hold auditions. Auditions for The Addams Family ran on January 11th and 12th in three parts: a dance, song, and cold reading. The dance is taught at the audition with no opportunity to prepare. The actors choose a song from a list in advance of the audition date to prepare and sing alone. Finally, the cold reading, a reading directly from the script without opportunity to prepare, is a scene or parts of scenes from the musical they are putting on. When the directors are deciding who will play which role, she tells the actors it's “like a puzzle.” She says it's not about talent, but finding a good fit for everyone. She looks at a combination of their dancing, singing, and acting in terms of range and ability. Ms. Collins says everyone participates no matter what and nobody is cut from the show. The cast list, which actors will perform in which roles, was released to the actors on January 18th.  Look out for more details on their Instagram @ehhsdramaclub

 There are also officers of the Drama Club who make sure there's always a positive environment. The president is senior Emily Cancel; the vice presidents are junior, Katelyn Webster, and senior Kayden Patel; and the publicity manager is sophomore Kimberly Carrera. Both Emily and Kayden said they ran because they care deeply about the club and wanted to have a bigger role. Kim ran because she wants to “show how theater truly is,” which is fun and collaborative. Kim runs the social media and manages promotions with the help of Ms. Collins and other officers. Emily, Kayden, and Katelyn all help with fundraisers, promotions, and keeping people excited for the show. Ms. Collins says that the actors influence how the play turns out. In the end, she says, “they get what they put into it.”

Left to right: Kayden Patel, Emily Cancel, Kimberly Carrera, Katelyn Webster

Emily says theater is a good opportunity to express yourself through art. She says, “people think you need to be very talented to participate but it's all about fun.” Kayden says theater “helps with more skills than just acting, such as communication and working with others” Kayden also says it is helpful for getting over performance anxiety. EHA and JMMS students were also invited to audition and perform in the show. Any EHHS student can join Drama Club; there are roles and tasks for anyone who is interested. If you don't want to be on stage, you can always join the tech/crew.