Work hard PLAY hard
It's the most wonderful (and hectic) time of the year for the performing arts department.
Dec 4, 2014
The singers know all their notes, the actors know all their lines and the dancers know all their steps. It’s show time. But the preparation for SMCHS’s Christmas Production didn’t happen overnight.
The performing arts department had met way back in June to plan out what days in December the Christmas production would be performed on. Without all the planning in advance, there wouldn’t be enough time for proper preparation.
“Things in performing arts have to be buttoned down, you can’t wait until a week or two weeks before to get things done,” said Francisco Calvo, performing arts department chair. “We always have to work around the liturgical calendar because it changes every year. This year our schedule is different than how we’ve recently done it.”
The multitasking performing arts department has mastered the skill of planning in advance, having to juggle the fall production, the encore performance, the Christmas production and the spring musical all at once.
“I’m always in preproduction for a show while I’m in production for another show,” said Amy Barth, director of theatre arts.
The dedication that every performing arts teacher and student puts into the Christmas production, whether they are part of choir, theatre, orchestra, dance or working behind the scenes, is vital to making the performance happen. The hardest parts though, according to Calvo, are the practices.
“It’s incredibly difficult,” Calvo said. “People really don’t know how hard it is.”
Each branch of the department practices its parts separately up until the week of the concert. Then, there are a mere two days to combine all aspects of the production together before the two shows.
“That’s the equivalent of having your offensive line and your running game and your passing game all meeting separately and then on Thursday they get together and practice and have a game on Friday,” Calvo said. “Nobody gets that. Without a performing arts center there is no way for us to practice together until the week of the show.
Along with a lack of opportunities to practice, having to share the gym with a multitude of sports teams and other events causes a lack of time for setting up the stage as well. The setup for the Christmas production is extensive, with the tech crew essentially building a set, also, in two days.
“If there are any areas of stress, they are related to having to create the performing spaces,” Barth said.
The “Christmas production hell-week” began on Monday Dec. 1, the day after Thanksgiving break, when all of the sound equipment, choir risers, chairs and stands were set up in the gym. After two days of scrambling to set up for the production, the students had their first practice and sound check on Wednesday Dec. 3.
Getting ready – Junior Karina Sanchez does her makeup for the dress rehearsal.
Today’s dress rehearsal marks the last chance to practice before they perform the two shows on Friday Dec. 5 for students and staff and the two shows on Sunday Dec. 7 for family and friends.
Since nearly 700 of SMCHS’s 1700 students are a part of performing arts, the department is in need of more space for practice and performance.
“About 40 percent of students at SMCHS are sitting in about 4 percent of the school’s property,” Calvo said. “We ran out of room last year so we had to push 12 feet back so we’re using two basketball courts now and it’s still going to be tight.”
A space to provide students with a place to perform has been a dream of the performing arts department for a long time.
“The lack of space really limits the types of formations that I can do,” said Jill Schroeder, director of dance.
With the money already raised, the performing arts department has been able to hire a theater consultant to help them draw up blueprints. Soon enough, the performing arts center will have room for storage and practice, dance studios and shop classrooms, and offices and a theater that will be able to fit the growing crowds.
“One of the biggest benefits of a center for performing arts would be that we could all still maintain our classes the way we want to, we could all go on with our instruction the way we want to, while also being able to put on productions,” Schroeder said.
The center is planned to be built in place of the existing A building that hosts choir, orchestra and theatre, the dome and the trailers.
Dolled up – Senior Katie Stanton perfects her hair for the dress rehearsal.
“Our goal is to have drawings and 3D models by the spring musical,” Calvo said.
Even with the hopes of a new and improved space for students to express their artistic abilities, the performing arts members are grateful for what they have. The leaders of the performing arts have found familiarity with the sets of music, the characters that perform and the stories that are told.
“We love the music because of the parallels between Eddie, the main character of this year’s show, and the general crowd and the parallel between Jesus the son and God the father,” Calvo said. “Plus the music is really great, it’s 1904s swing music.”
Now all they need is a space dedicated solely to SMCHS students’ performing passions and talents.
“I think, given that it is the only show that involves the entire performing arts department,” Barth said. “It’s a great showcase of the talent of our students and the breadth of our program. I’d just like to see it happen in a space that is not a converted gym, but a space that it truly worthy of the talent of our students.”
It is clear that, even though the Christmas production brings stress and hectic last minute changes, it is one of the most exciting and eventful times of the year for performing arts. It’s a chance to incorporate all aspects of the arts, through singing, playing, acting, dancing and all the behind the scene work that goes into putting on a show.
All this would not be possible without the immense dedication of the facilities staff. With the new schedule for the performances, students will not be able to help break down the production as they normally do. Instead, the facilities staff will take on the burden.
“Please write in your article a huge thank you to Ms. Dominguez and Mr. Ortega and all the facilities people for all their help,” Calvo said. “Otherwise the production wouldn’t happen this year.”
The Christmas production doesn’t just happen. The music doesn’t come to life right before the show, the gym isn’t set up or taken down by magic and the actors don’t memorize their lines in the blink of an eye. Without all the behind the scenes work, prep time and intense practices, the Christmas production would not be possible.
Student performances: Friday, Dec. 5
Encore performances: Sunday, Dec. 7 – 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.