The Big Show!

The Big Show!

By: Madeline

On April 18th, 25th and 26th, fifth graders practiced for their big musical on May 3rd. The rehearsals had their share of ups and downs plus many dramatic and applause worthy moments.

The first rehearsal was the most disliked rehearsal. Mrs. Kelton had trouble directing due to the amount of talking and “chit chat” the fifth graders produced. In fact, they were stopped mid rehearsal many times due to the amount of talking. Due to this, the 5th graders finished rehearsal 5 minutes before dismissal (for specials) which meant it took 55 minutes to run through a show that is only supposed to take 30 minutes. Riley Kerley, a fifth grader is Mrs. Barnes Class, said “It was very chaotic but also very exciting”. The exciting feeling is something that many felt as well because this was the first time all of fifth grade was going to practice together plus the fifth grade musical is a big deal.

The second rehearsal did not have nearly as much talking. In fact, fifth grader Allison Zhang recalls the experience as following: “The 2nd was less crazy and it was good because I  got an applause”. The applause part was probably one of the most memorable parts about the rehearsal. Allison portrays the part of the dish in “Hey Diddle Diddle”. When Little Miss Muffet (Sophie) ended up running away with the spoon, replacing her, she is not happy. She ends up screaming at the dish which in turn caused everyone to applaud because she did such a great job. The only thing that changed (other than the talking) in this rehearsal was the fact that the microphones were added. This helped everybody learn the amount of volume to put into the microphone for the actual show. The third rehearsal also went much like the second rehearsal except for the body mics. This time around, Grandmother (Abby) and Little Miss Muffet (Sophie) worked with the body mics. In the beginning, there was a lot of feedback and it took about 5 minutes to get everything fully adjusted. In the end, Mrs. Kelton noted the Grandmother (Abby) might just have to use a handheld mic so Little Miss Muffet’s (Sophie) mic would work. Also, the dance was kind of a mess. Little Miss Muffet #2 (Madeline), Hey Diddle Diddle characters, Sing a Song of Sixpence characters, Lords and Ladies of the Court, Queen (Sage), and the Knave (Liam W./Salt) ended up facing some difficulties. Dog (Lyric) was goofing off and the circle made it hard for everybody. The reason the circle made it hard was due to the fact that more people get sucked into the dance each time the song repeats and some people do not back up the circle so their is enough room. People are having to shout and send signals to get people to move, which can not happen in the performance.

As the clock ticks down to the performance and their last practice, everybody is getting ready. Costumes are being prepared and lines are being rehearsed. The excitement around showtime is something that is very unique. But even with excitement, there is anxiety. People are getting nervous and that is not the best feeling. Even with these feelings, you can tell that this show will be very interesting. Definitely something that is unforgettable. The question is: what will make this performance unforgettable and why?

This is what are t-shirts will look like (they will not have the tittle of the play on them though).