The cast and crew of Les Miserables won’t be getting very much sleep for the next week and a half. All students involved have rehearsals from 5:30 to 10:00 until opening night. Those who haven’t been involved in a show before may be baffled as to why these rehearsals aren’t scheduled for right after school so as to end earlier, but director Stanley Swartz explains that there are several reasons for these late rehearsals.
“I’m trying to simply get everybody into the routine, because people do better with that,” Swartz said. He adds that without practicing the show during the time when it will be performed it would be difficult to establish a call time. A third reason these rehearsals are necessary is so that parent volunteers and spots in the orchestra filled with performers outside HHS can attend.
“We can run more. We feel more determined. It gets us prepared for when the show actually happens,” senior Allison McKenzie, who has attended many a late rehearsal, said. Although she gets tired during the rehearsals, she still enjoys them. “I love them. The energy comes up, because its like your almost ready for the show.” Unlike McKenzie, many actors are experiencing late rehearsals for the first time.
Freshman Miranda Stoner admitted she thought the late rehearsals would be boring, but was proven wrong. “They’re actually pretty fun,” she said. “There’s an urgency. We’re getting ready to perform.”
Another major component of the rehearsals is the food committee, headed by drama mamas Debbie Logan and Ann Sicililano. The committee has met several times to plan nutritious meals for the cast. This year, they will be serving food from Mr. J’s Bagels, pizza, soup, chili, and pancakes. Members of the committee arrive at 7 p.m. to help with the food.
“I love [night rehearsals]. I think they’re so much fun. I love to see the progression,” Logan said. Her opinion seems to be shared by almost everyone involved.
“I think the kids are starting to understand that it’s time. I love my job. I love working with the kids. I enjoy the creative process,” Swartz said. Even if that creative process means going home long after the sun has set.