I'm soaring! Flying! There's not a star in heaven that I can't re... Okay, enough of that. But seriously, this show has been a really fantastic experience. I am so proud of the work that these kids put in. There is a TON of stuff to learn in this show. Most "Jr" shows have 6-8 short easy songs with minimal dancing or harmony. High School Musical Jr, is not most "Jr" shows. There is a ton of music, constant harmonies, and (as it sometimes felt in rehearsal) nearly endless dancing.
The easy thing to do, for us and the students, would have been to simplify, cut out the harmonies, put together some super easy dances. But that is not what we did. We asked the kids to rise to the challenge of the material, and boy did they ever. This was made even more impressive because a huge precentage of this cast was either brand new to FSTS, or working on their biggest role yet with our company. It was super exciting for me, to watch these super talented kids step up to the plate and hit it out of the park!
I would like to take a moment to thank the fantastic people who made this show possible. Liz Toleno, for teaching the aforementioned ridiculous amount of music and harmonies. Jessica Woodin for choreographing the awesome dances. Lauren Morgan for assisting with the choreography. Michelle Hartman, my awesome stage manager who keeps my frazzled brain focused, oh and who helped build and paint the wonderful set as well. John Hartman, for building said set, which looks amazing. The parents for getting their wonderfully talented kids to and from class, while putting up with extended rehearsals and Spring Fest parking nightmares.
Lastly, I want to thank my cast, a fantastically talented bunch of actors and actresses. Go out there and just have fun guys, you've earned it.
Thanks,
Mike
