-
Leah Graden, sophomore, and Grace Gallagher, junior, attach screws to support a set piece at set build on Saturday, March 7. Gallagher, set crew head for Seussical the Musical, has to make sure everything is secured so the set holds up for the actors who will be walking over student creations.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Aylee Jakob, freshman, screws the end of a wood slab onto a circular piece of the large ham set while Wade Davis, sophomore, holds the other edge of the slab so it stays secure. Jakob and Davis are creating a large ham piece, which will be used in the closing act of the musical for the song, “Green Eggs and Ham.” The entirety of the set will look like a jungle gym, where trampolines, slides and monkey bars will be installed for actors to accentuate the wildness of the musical.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Aylee Jakob, freshman, and Zoe Lalor, senior, cut a wood block to attach to a set piece that will eventually resemble a large piece of ham. Jakob and Lalor worked together to make sure the piece fits correctly.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Sally Armstrong, senior, measures how much she needs to cut off a wood piece so it fits another the main stage of the set, which is a storybook actors will walk on. Armstrong will install two different support slabs beneath the book. Armstrong is on props crew, but she has experience on set crew from previous shows.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Miles Harris, sophomore, guides Leah Graden, sophomore, on where to drill her screw into the set piece. Harris points his finger from a distance to ensure he is safe and protected while also giving Graden proper guidance to secure the wood tightly.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Sophomores Miles Harris and Leah Graden watch as Grace Gallagher, junior, demonstrates how to use a drill. Because the sophomores are on different crews, they still need their build hours, which are four hours students have to attend to paint, build and create the set so they can go to the banquet at the end of the school year. Non set crew members have to be shown how to accurately measure and screw things to become a part of the build.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Sally Armstrong, senior, and Wade Davis, sophomore, clean up after set build. All Marquette Theater Company cast and crew members have to participate in a set build before the show is done so they can attend the banquet at the end of the school year.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Aylee Jakob, freshman; Wade Hitchcock, sophomore; and Zoe Lalor, senior, measure out a slab of wood that will become a part of the main set. With every crew member’s input, they can speed up the process of design and get things done far before the show begins on Thursday, April 16. The set crew has four weeks left after Spring Break to finish the set, and meets on Saturdays and Wednesdays every week.
Media by Kate Lorenz
-
Wade Hitchcock, sophomore, works with the trampolines on the “Suessical” set. Hitchcock makes sure everything is the correct size and dimensions to fit onto a larger set piece that cast members will jump on and off of.
Media by Kate Lorenz
Andrew Phillips, freshman, opened the Instagram post announcing the cast list for Marquette Theater Company’s spring musical “Seussical the Musical” and was confused when he saw his name under the lead role.
“I was in denial,” Phillips said. “I don’t think that I’ve grasped that I got the role yet.”
Phillips is the first freshman to land the lead role since fall of 2015. His role is Horton the elephant, who discovers a speck of dust that contains the Whos.
The musical will take place Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m., and the closing show will be on Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m.
Although he was not able to audition for the fall play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” due to his involvement in marching band, Phillips said he is ready to get back into theater. After participating in middle school theater, he decided to audition for Marquette Theater Company’s spring musical.
Rebecca Young, theater director, said she cast Phillips for the lead because of his skill in delivering the lines. She said she casts actors with the mindset that she will cast the best person for the role, regardless of their grade level.
“There was just a really nice sincerity about how he read that role,” Young said. “He’s a really smart actor, and we just felt like he was Horton.”
The casting process consists of a vocal component and a dance component. Young said the dance component allows her to see where everyone is at in terms of learning choreography.
Young said she is excited for “Seussical the Musical” because it is such a large production, with more than 40 people in the cast.
“The cast is really strong. This is the first time ever in my career I didn’t cut anyone,” Young said. “We genuinely felt like everyone had something that they could contribute to the show.”
Young said the student director for the show, Micah Rodgers, senior, also sat in during auditions.
Rodgers said he felt honored when Young told him he would be the student director for the musical, and that it meant a lot to him that Young trusted him with such a large responsibility.
“I really admire Ms. Young’s directing skills,” Rodgers said. “This experience will teach me how to work with people and guide them toward a shared vision.”
Rodgers said he expects he will assist with rehearsals, communicate notes to the actors, observe how directing decisions are made and support the cast and crew as much as possible.
“Everyone is welcoming and genuinely happy to be there, which makes it a great place to find community and feel supported,” Rodgers said.
