Photo by Shea Wendlandt

Junior Katie Call applies stage makeup to another cast member before last weekend’s performance of “Damn Yankees” at Westlake High School.

By Jessica Stenglein
Special to the Picayune

Last weekend, the Westlake High School Performing Arts Center was filled with the sound of students singing and dancing for the WHS choir’s performance of “Damn Yankees.”

“Being a lead in a high school musical is something I will never get to do again, so it’s exciting to be given that opportunity,” senior Leslie Rice said.

To receive their parts for the show, students signed up to audition for a specific character. Students performed a monologue and a short cut of a song in front of the two directors, who then posted the cast list before winter break.

“Finding out I got the part of Applegate was simply amazing,” senior Gray Lantta said. “I’ve always wanted to be the big villain in a show like this, even when I was little I’d opt to be the bad guy during pretend time, and now I have the opportunity to do so in the Westlake musical.”

With rehearsals starting the first day of the spring semester, students worked hard and prepared extensively for this show. During production week, students participated in rehearsals that lasted until 10- 10:30 p.m. each night.

“The most challenging part is keeping up your energy,” Rice said. The late nights caught fatigue, but you have to take the stage the next night with even more energy than the night before. It’s hard, but totally worth it.”

In addition to overcoming fatigue, students worked hard to improve their acting and singing skills throughout the late night rehearsals and performances.

“The most challenging aspect of preparing for a musical is trying to improve when you feel like you are already giving your all,” senior Megan Kelly said. “The great thing about live theater is that it is always changing, and each performance improves as we discover new ways to make the show great.”

“The [hardest] thing for me about preparing for the musical was trying to be a different person,” junior Andy Germann added. “It was hard to change my mannerisms and personality enough to make it believable.”

Throughout the process of rehearsing and performing, students became close friends and got to know each other better.

“My favorite part about being in choir is that we are all one giant family, including the directors,” senior Lily Judge said. “All grade levels blend together, and there are no cliques. We have countless inside jokes that are shared between everyone in the program.”

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