I have loved theater since I was young, participating in shows like Grease and Fiddler on the Roof in middle school. I do it for the indescribable feeling I get on stage when the curtain is about to open and for the exhilarating liberty of creating a story as if it were daily life. At Groton, I have been able to continue to develop my passion.
In the fall of this year, I was part of the production We Can’t Call it Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone. We spent the first two weeks looking at different versions of the play and analyzing what we liked and what we would like to add to our own production. Furthermore, we spent time discussing as a cast what Antigone meant to us and how the story of a young girl fighting to bury her brother can relate to the world today. We explored movement, space, and time, and how our play could transcend them. The cast wrote in parts of the script, and a new character and new scenes were added until we had our very own Antigone. In the end, the name of our production made sense. It was no longer just Antigone, but a collection reflecting how our cast interpreted the story and retold it.
This winter, there has been a more traditional approach to theater as we rehearse the musical Legally Blonde. The show is great to rehearse and put on in the winter because of its peppy nature. Our rehearsals are a mix of learning various songs and dances, as well as blocking scenes. I am especially excited to continue to learn one dance where we are jump-roping with various tricks!
It has been an amazing experience to bond with the cast during rehearsal and during dinner after rehearsal. Everyone in the cast is always happy to meet new people and welcome them into the theater community! I am excited to continue to participate in the theater program in the future!