playbill vip

Welcome to the fall musical!

Boy, that feels weird to say, but it's been on my mind for years. 

If you are a regular patron of EK Theatre, you are used to us stepping outside the box.  In the past seventeen years, I've done regular old plays in this slot, I've adapted screenplays for the stage, I've set up a children's haunted house, I've set up a terrifying teen targeted haunted house, we've done old and original sketch comedy shows, we've performed here in the KFAA, and we've performed in the Bonnie Brush Black Box Theater.  It's not that I'm trying to make odd decisions with my play selections, it's just that I'm trying to provide different opportunities for my students to experience during their brief four years at EK.  I also listen to my students when they express their interests and passions, and will find offerings that tap into those emotions.  We do the same thing when it comes to our musical selections for the spring.   

When we look at shows to do each spring, we need to check some pretty specific boxes:

1. The show must require a large cast (40+, and fits well with the current crop of student performers we have on hand because it is professional level material).

2. The show must require a large orchestra (and fits well with the group of student musicians we have on hand because it is professional level music).

3. It should provide a new experience as we rotate through a 4-year genre cycle including: comedic, children's/family friendly, dramatic, modern, classic, etc.

These boxes are necessary to ensure student involvement that is both maximized and enriching.  Unfortunately, it leaves many outstanding opportunities at the wayside because they just don't fill our needs.  For example, Mama Mia is an immensely popular show that we would love to do, but the orchestra is a small a rock band of 7 instruments - 3 of them being keyboards.  Choosing this piece would leave a ton of our musicians out in the cold, so EK will probably never do that show.

So, here we are doing something we've never done in my years here, we are finally doing a small musical in the fall (when many of our musicians are involved with Marching Band) and a big musical in the spring!  It's a lovely opportunity for us, really.  

Enjoy the Bee!