Part 1 The Audition
“Oh, the thinks you can think! Oh, the thinks you can think if you’re willing to try…” Have you ever watched “Seussical the Musical”? This June Saguaro City Music Theatre brought it to the stage in Tucson, and I was very lucky to participate in this fabulous show! It is based on the works of Dr. Seuss, and involves a lot of singing and dancing. It is very fun for the kids and their whole family to watch together.
In order to play a role in the show, I had to audition first. Was I nervous? Yes, I was. Before the auditions, the choreographer, Dena, sent my mom an email with the materials that we would have to prepare. The song I picked to sing was the first few lines of “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!” I practiced singing every night after school for a week. Then it was the time for the audition!
We went into the School of Theatre Film & Television building at the University of Arizona. There I met my three friends, Kennedy, Ellie and Melody. I hadn’t seen them for a long time. All the campers started with a name game. Dena told us to say our name with a little motion. Then each of us had to copy the motion and say the names together. In that way, I remembered each camper’s name easily! After that, Dena asked us to stand up facing the mirror in the dancing room; she taught us the choreography for a song called “Green Eggs and Ham.” The moves were so quick that she had to make it slower for us to catch up. By the end of this dancing session, most of us could follow her dance moves and sing half of the song.
In the next session, all the campers had to move outside of the dance room. The director, Drew, the music director, Jamie, and Dena, called us one by one into the room to sing our prepared songs and say some lines. It was my first time singing a solo with a piano instead of a track; I tried my best to come up with some dance moves when I sang my song. When Dena told me to sit down and pick a sheet of lines, I picked the conversation between Horton the elephant and JoJo, because I really wanted to be JoJo. My favorite line that I spoke was after Horton asks, “When you think, do you dream?” and I responded happily with lots of confidence, “In bright colors!”
After I was done with the audition, a volunteer measured me for costumes outside. She measured my head, shoulder, waist, arm and leg length. I have never experienced such a detailed measurement and started to wonder what part I would play and what my costume would look like. A few weeks later, my mom got an email saying that I will play JoJo in the show! I got my dream role! I was so happy and couldn’t wait for the camp to start.
Part 2 The Summer Camp
It was my first day of the theatre camp. The university location is a little far from my house, but thankfully I can carpool with my friends. Ellie and Kennedy both have participated in the Saguaro City Music Theatre youth programs a few times but this was my first time!
After I got to the building at U of A, I met the Production Stage Manager, Brian, and all the teaching artists: the teaching artists were not just volunteers who helped the kids learn the songs and dances—they also played the main roles/characters of the play. Mrs. Mayor, my “mom” in the show, is Samantha; Mr. Mayor, my “dad” is Camille; Horton is James; Sour Kangaroo is Brach; Gertrude is Lillie; Mayzie is Lydia, Cat in the Hat is Zach and I am Jojo/Boy, the only main role that a kid could play. All the teaching artists were awesome, they were very patient and kind with any questions.
The camp lasted three weeks. We practiced in two studios, the dance room and the singing room. The first morning, Jamie, the music director, waited for us in the singing room beside the piano and told us to open our scripts. We sang our first song, “Green Eggs and Ham.” Then Dena brought us to the dance room to review the choreography for the song. In the first few days, we learned the group songs together; but for the rest of the weeks, all the campers got separated into three groups: the Jungle group, the Whos group and the Circus group. That way, different groups could practice in different studios at the same time. We worked very hard and efficiently every day.
A favorite thing of mine during the camp is that we got the chance to meet the designers for the show each day; they are all so important to make the performance happen! I learned that besides a Director, a Choreographer and a Production Stage Manager, there would also be a Scenic Designer, a Props Designer, a Sound Designer, a Lighting Designer, a Costume Designer and a Technical Director for the show. Theatre art definitely takes team work! During the camp, every designer came to us and gave us a presentation on their jobs, followed by some interesting hands-on activities for the campers. I got very excited when the Costume Designer Nina held a project in the lobby, where we made our own Cat in the Hat sock puppets. The second project we did was making clovers. We each painted a clover and they were props during the real show. It was very fun!
By the third week, we had gone through the whole play and we changed our location to the actual theatre, Berger Performing Arts Center. The whole scenic set was ready to go! The last week is called Tech Week. Dena and Drew gave us a tour of the stage, the wings and the backstage. Believe it or not, backstage has two levels. I was assigned on the second floor. We had our own chairs and desks backstage labelled with our names. I couldn’t wait for the show to start! On Thursday, we ran through the whole show. Everything went super smoothly, but I still was a bit nervous because the actual show would come the next day.
Part 3 The Shows
Finally, the big days came. I was half nervous, half excited. When I walked onto the stage for rehearsal on Friday morning, I saw two people who had cameras. “What are they doing?” I wondered. It turned out that they were here for interviews and group pictures right before our dress rehearsal. They told us to change into our costumes and come on stage for pictures. We took five normal ones, five silly ones and five funny ones!
After that, we took our places and waited for the show to start. This show was a dress rehearsal, but the sponsors for the show would come to see us. When the overture music started, I got into my place on the stage during the blackout, then a spotlight went up. I could see our sponsors filled up the first few rows of the audience seats. After I said my first few lines, I was still pretty nervous. I haven’t performed independently in front of so many people for a while. When Zack (Cat in the Hat) came on the stage with me and more and more actors came out at the stage, I felt super excited to perform. I was no longer scared! I tried my best not to mess up and the rest of the show turned out great.
After lunch on Friday afternoon, we changed back into our costumes. Then we gathered in the main room backstage. It was time for the real show and we would have a real audience, including my mom! Dena and Andrew talked about how we need to feel confident. Their words encouraged me and I knew I could do even better. This time, about 3/4 of the seats were filled. When the spotlight went up, I saw my mom sitting in the middle, very excited to watch the show. The show ran even more smoothly than the dress rehearsal in the morning. The most exciting part of the show was the bows, everyone clapped and everyone cheered!
I was super exhausted when we were done. I quickly changed into my normal clothes because I was really eager to see my mom. When I got into the lobby, mom hugged me, saying this was the best show she had ever seen! She was so proud of me. I couldn’t wait to get home for a rest, but at the same time, I was really looking forward to performing in two more shows on Saturday.
The next day came, I got up at 6 a.m.. The first thing I did was to start singing the songs in the show. I just couldn’t stop thinking about Seussical. Finally, my dad and mom drove me over to the theater. I quickly ran inside the building to meet with my other friends and get changed. An hour later, the show started. This time even more people were in the audience, but I was not nervous at all. It was my friend Yihan’s birthday that day and she was just sitting right there watching me perform on the stage. I hoped this Seussical show could be a special birthday gift for her.
After the show was done, I rushed to change and went into the lobby to meet with my parents and friends. Yihan and Yilai were both there to congratulate me. Later on that day, during the second show, my piano teacher, Ms. Pae, and pipa (Chinese lute) teacher, Ms. Wu, my friends from my swim team, and my next-door neighbors all came! They all said that they loved the show; they brought me flowers and we took a lot of pictures. They made me feel like I was a very popular star!
At last, the final show day came. I would be playing a different role, a Wickersham, and the understudy, Miriam, played JoJo. Dena, Brian, Miriam, the other Wickershams and I all came to the theatre earlier. We helped each other learn the dance moves as Miriam and I would switch roles. It is challenging but we knew we could make it. An hour later, other actors started arriving and the audience started coming into their seats. We couldn’t believe that all the tickets were SOLD OUT! This was our last show and everyone tried their very best. At the end, we had a celebration party in the lobby. I hugged my friends and we signed each others’ Seussical T-shirts. It was very hard to say bye to them.
Overall, Saguaro City Studio Arts “Seussical The Musical” was the best camp that I have ever attended! I felt so fortunate to be part of this show. I’m still singing, “It’s possible, anything is possible!” as Jojo did in the show. These memories will stay in my head forever!
