The Musical Theatre Revue may have lasted only an hour, but the work behind it extended across a month of hard work and dedication.
On Nov. 22, Musical Theatre levels I and II, along with Lower School at ‘Iolani School, all performed their revue, a sequence of performances put together, called “Any Dream Will Do.” This was performed in Seto hall, and directed by Mr. Andrew Sakaguchi and Ms. Mary Chestnut Hicks. Though the final show may have looked perfect, the process behind it was full of trial and error as students and directors balanced choreography, staging, and distractions. Their hard work is a side of theater that the public rarely ever sees.
For this specific revue, they chose songs from Mulan, Tangled, Spongebob the Musical, Peter Pan, Mamma Mia, The Greatest Showman, Mary Poppins and many more.
Since it may be some students’ first time participating in a theatre program, Mr. Sakaguchi chooses to do a revue every year in the first semester.
He described, “Revues can involve everybody in the class, the equal sort of way, whereas in the second semester… the focus is not on everyone as a class, but on different individuals in the spring show.”
Mr. Sakaguchi has a very straightforward and precise way of directing the show. First and foremost, he picked the show.
Mr.Sakauchi said, “We choose just based on the strengths of the students and what we think would be a good learning opportunity for the students and because it’s a revue, we have the freedom to just choose anything.”
Following this, Mr. Sakaguchi and Ms. Hicks casted the roles. For a revue, they simply casted based on each person’s skill sets and where they are at right now. Or, if the students themselves wanted to perform a number then they could. Once they have everything set in stone, they begin to learn the music.
Rehearsal and practice are a vital part to any passion. For the most part, nothing will ever be perfect the first time you run through it.
Mr. Sakaguchi explained that along with practice during class the month prior, “We’ll have a few after school rehearsals that week as well. And then on the day of the show, we’ll have one big rehearsal where we put all the classes together and then have the performance right after that.”
During rehearsal, students went over their lines, performances, choreography and lyrics with Mr. Sakaguchi so that they could be confident and their best self during the show.
Choreography can be rigorous with the constant repetition of the same dance, but in the end, your hard work will be evident in your performance.
Keke C. ’30 stated, “On the first day of practice everyone was flailing around and stepping on peoples shoes, but now that we practiced more, we became more confident.”
Although performing on a stage with your friends can be enticing, both Mr. Sakaguchi and Keke agree that one of the hardest parts of theatre is staying on task. Mr. Sakaguchi said, “I sometimes get too focused on one thing that’s right in front of me, and I don’t see the whole picture.”
Although there are various obstacles that can hold a person back from giving their best performance, having a good mindset can help your skills as a performer. Keke said, “Don’t care what other people think; if they judge you then that’s their problem.”
