By: Abby Mortinsen ‘18
Sister Act began auditions on Monday, August 27. The cast list was posted on Friday, August 31. For Mr. Pantoja, this is the worst day of the year. He has watched many talented performers audition and he knows he is going to break somebody’s heart. This day is hard but also exciting for Pantoja as it also marks the beginning of a show.
The process of making a musical starts in April. The deliberations begin for the next show. This year Mr. Bernie Sauer says there were three factors. The first is not doing something Regis Jesuit has done recently. The second is looking at some of the talent that will be involved in theatre the next year. The most important aspect is finding something our community will enjoy. “It’s got a wonderful potential for the Catholic community because of the sense of humor and the fact that [it’s] mixing sacred with Motown.” Sauer declares.
Learning the sacred Motown is a huge piece of the rehearsal process. Most of the rehearsal process is spent learning the music and the choreography. This year there are eight weeks of rehearsal instead of the usual ten weeks. This is concerning to much of the cast including Eli Harvey, who stars in the show as Deloris. “Most of the time, I’m going to be doubling up on things, learning choreography and having to rehearse a nun ensemble number at the same time.” Since choreography and music rehearsal can coincide, Eli is often needed in several places at once. This means they will not have any extra time for review. While the rest of the cast is not quite as busy, there is still minimal time for rehearsal. This means homework in theatre.
While there is still much to do with the show being two and a half weeks out, the cast is working hard and can not wait to have an audience. It’s an exciting time for theatre and everyone cannot wait to perform for an audience.
The show dates are October 26th and 27th at 7:00 pm, October 28th at 2:00 pm, November 2nd and 3rd at 7:00 pm and November 4th at 2:00 pm.