MHS musical cast knows 'beauty' in participating
Sports reporter
Editor's note: This feature on the Marion High School students participating in the 2007 fall musical is part one of a yearlong series of MHS clubs and activities off the sports field.
After a grueling, three-hour practice complete with fake blood, sweat, and tears, the team calls it a night at 10 o'clock.
The members have school the next day, which means homework, a possible test, and the never-ending fight against that voice in their heads that says it's OK to sleep during class.
Still, they are back at practice the next night at 7 p.m. ready for another three hours of listening to their coaches, strategic planning, and of course, team camaraderie.
It's not the Marion High School basketball team, instead it's the cast members of MHS' 2007 fall musical, "Beauty and the Beast," scheduled for Nov. 16, 17, and 18 at Marion City Building.
Better than TV
Despite not playing on a field or court, the sport that is the musical, can be just as, if not more, taxing on the students than any sport.
"It's a team effort," director Janet Killough said. "It really is a sport, people just don't view it as that."
"There are a lot of parallels," senior Brett Billings, who plays the brash Gaston in the musical and was a lineman on the football team, said. "You show up every night. Maybe you don't want to be there, but you [are] whether you like it or not."
And whether or not it's a sport really doesn't matter to anyone involved. What matters is putting on a production audiences of all ages can enjoy, and more often than not, that is the case.
MHS musicals garner numerous Jester Awards (the top honors for musicals in Kansas) each year, putting to shame the productions of many musicals from 5A and 6A schools.
"We're the only show in town," Billing said, "and it's better than watching TV."
But in reality it might not matter if they are the only show in town or not, the facts don't lie, and the Jester awards prove Killough continuously puts a great product on stage year in and year out.
Right decision
Junior Lucy Collett said she didn't have much of a choice when it came to whether or not she would participate, since her father, Keith pretty much said she was going to do it.
But now in her third year on stage, Collett, who plays Mrs. Potts, is glad she is now involved.
"I enjoy being there and around the people," the cross country runner said. "Once it comes to game time, it's your moment to show everyone what you can do."
This year a lot of the cast members will be showing everyone what they can do for the first time. Killough lost 19 seniors from this past year, and although she has 11 this year, only four have been on stage more than one time in their high school career.
"It's tough to work as hard as you have to work on a musical and have people who haven't had experience," she said. "But the same thing, if they don't get experience you will be in the same boat next year."
One of he newcomers to the stage is sophomore Brooke Johnson who was cast as leading lady Belle.
"She has a lot of pressure on her," Killough said.
"I didn't expect to get the big role, and I thought it would be a lot easier," Johnson said, "but it's fun."
worth it in the end
Fun is what this cast seems to have most of the time. Whether it's Billings breaking out in song during an interview, sophomore Brady Hudson trying to do his best Lumiere the Candlestick impression off stage, or just spending time together during rehearsal.
But make no mistake, despite having fun, it can be tough as well.
"There comes a point in everything that you do where you've had enough," Hudson said.
"Sometimes it's pitiful," Billings said when the long nights sometime drag on. "You just ask, 'Why am I here?'"
But then they remember how much work has gone into making the production the best it can be.
They remember the backstage workers, orchestra, props people, or costume designer Autumn Hansen.
They remember without them, the show, cliché or not, does not go on.
"They make us look good," Billings said.
"No matter what their acting skills were, it wouldn't be as good without those people," Killough said.
So while there may not be any hitting on stage like on the football or baseball fields, or scoring points like on the basketball court, it's a total team effort to put on the best possible show opening night for all to see.
"The entertainment for the amount of money is incredible," Killough said.
And while the purpose of the musical is to give something to the community it can enjoy and be proud of, it's for the actors themselves as well.
"I tell them it is one of the things they will do in high school they will remember the most," Killough said.
With months of practice late into the night, finishing with back-to-back-to-back performances for their families, peers, and other community members, how could they not?
Tickets for the show can be purchased in advanced at County Seat in Marion for the Nov. 16 and 17 shows, and at the door for the Nov. 18 performance.
The cost is $3 for adults and $2 for children 12 and younger.
