The amazing show

Tommaso Mensi, Staff Writer|March 1, 2023

The Jenison Thespians are presenting their spring Musical: Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat. The show is going to be in March, between March 16 and March 18. But also the week after, between March 23 and 25. To know more about the work behind this beautiful show, I decided to interview the director of the show, Ms. DeGraaf , but also a
n actor and a crew member that are taking part in the show.
 
I chose to interview them so that I could have more points of view about all the different jobs that there are in a show.

The Actor

First of all, I interviewed one of the actors, Gage Bergman. He is a junior at Jenison High School, and he loves theater. He is part of the Jenison Thespians Troupe 5421. In the Musical he is going to play the main character, Joseph. During the first part of the interview, I decided to focus on the most difficult things for him to do for the show . Finally I asked him, why someone should join the Jenison Thespians and what is the most exciting thing for him, about the show. And that is what he answered me;
“He takes me about a month to prepare it, sometimes it could also take a shorter amount of time, like 2 to 3 weeks.
Memorizing the dancing and singing are the most difficult things for me, to prepare for the show.
Someone should join the Jenison Thespians because it is a great environment. Everyone should get involved in theater!
Finally, The thing that I’m most excited about is when all the shows come together at the end.” (Gage Bergman, student at Jenison High School)

The Director

 
Then I decided to interview the director of the High School show, Ms. DeGraaf. I started my interview by asking her, how long it takes to produce a show. Then how many people are in the cast and what is the most challenging part of a show. Finally how she decides what show to do.
 
“It takes me at least 6 months to decide on the shows and then 5 weeks to work on it, then the material goes out. Finally, we worked all together for around 8 weeks.
For the musical, The people in the cast are 36, high school students and 15 elementary students. 120, including the crew and the cast.
The most challenging part of preparing the show is making all the schedules done, and making everything work on time. I choose the shows based on a list of the shows that I always wanted to do, I have to find the one that makes me excited to do it.” (Ms. DeGraaf, teacher at Jenison High School)
 
Then, in the second part of the interview, I asked her: how long is the show going to be and why should someone join the Jenison thespians . Finally, what is the best thing about being a director. And that is what she answered me.
 
“So, The performance is gonna be less than 2 hours.
People should join the Thespians because it’s fun and there are a lot of outlets for creative people. It offers something for everyone.
The best thing about being a director is seeing students grow and gettin’ to see all the products that everyone created .” (Ms. DeGraaf, teacher at Jenison High School)

The Crew Member

 
Finally, I decided to interview a member of the set crew, Carlota Quintana. We talked about what they usually do in the crews, and how much time it takes to prepare all the set pieces
 
“We usually arrive there and the crew lead tells us what to do. Then We start working, then we do that until 6 and then we clean up. Usually it takes us two months to get all the work done.” (Carlota Quintana, student at Jenison High School)

 Support!

You should all come to support the beautiful crew for their spring show!
 
It was a great opportunity to get to know better all the work needed behind a show and how preparing a show works. As a member of the set crew, it is exciting to see the work done at the end. It is always satisfying to see that all the effort that we put on, it is completely worth it.