As soon as the audience quiets, the ensemble takes over the stage. Junior Sam Kelly speaks the first lines of the show, which are the only ones she has.
“I just wanted to be on ensemble,” Kelly said. “I like dancing a lot, so… I think that suited me better than singing the majority of it.”
Beneath shining spotlights, the stars of Wando Theater stand upon a decorated stage. They are front and center, commanding attention with powerful voices and heartfelt emotion, but those dancing behind them are just as important to the spectacle.
This year, the fall show was Beetlejuice, Jr, the musical. It had a few rockstar leads, but supporting them throughout were the many ensemble cast members.
As a member of Wando’s color guard, Kelly has plenty of experience in dance, but after acting since she was five, there are many other aspects of theater that she enjoys.
“It’s just different from… everything else I’ve kind of done… There’s so many elements to theater that you can do basically anything… I guess that’s why I really like it,” Kelly said.
Nearly halfway through the show, another ensemble member gets her time to shine. Senior Payton Bystol, playing Maxine Dean, brings her new neighbor a store-bought pie.
“I’m also Barbara’s understudy. She’s one of the leads,” Bystol said. “You don’t get all the roles you could… go for… so… I’m, like, just happy to be in there and I have two lines.”
Understudies are extremely important to any show, and they must take extra steps to ensure that they will be ready, just in case.
“When we’re not on stage, when [Barbara is] on stage, I’m just writing down her blocking, recording tiny, specific dance moves. Because, you never know what’s gonna’ happen, like [Barbara] could be sick the day of the show, and I need to know that I can go on for her,” Bystol said.
An active member in theater arts since she was seven years old, Bystol said she adores much more than just glory under a spotlight.
“[My favorite thing is] definitely the community and the people. Some of my best friends… I’ve made through theater and… getting to work with them… when you’re on stage and trying new things, you’re more vulnerable,” Bystol said. “So I feel like them seeing who I truly am and how we can be goofy and joke around together, but also have our serious moments, is what I just cherish so much.”
Over the years, many people have had a hand in making theater so special for her.
“[Drama teacher Clyde] Moser and… my music teachers growing up truly… shaped who I am today and… have given that support and helped me know how to… express my talents the best way I can, and I love to do that for other people,” Bystol said.
In one of the biggest dance numbers of the show, another ensemble member temporarily steals the stage. Bystol’s fellow senior and understudy, Charlie Minister, is fully immersed in his role as the Cigar Mobster.
“There’s about two hours of content we have to know… and so we have to do a lot of memorizing the dances, a lot of memorizing the songs,” Minister said. “Then… if you have lines, a lot of memorizing the lines, and… the leads have to memorize a lot more lines and singing, whereas the ensemble has to do a lot more dancing and singing.”
Minister was thrust into his first theater role in his sophomore year, during Wando’s production of Mamma Mia! Now, he plans for theater to be a huge part of his future.
“My plan for college is to be a vocal performance major, which will then lead me to hopefully being able to write my own musicals,” Minister said.
In fact, he has already begun his journey in script and music writing.
“I’m currently working on a one-act play… and then I’m also just writing a musical on the side, just for fun,” Minister said. “I’ve been writing a lot about post-apocalyptic stories… I’m so hyped to do it, and I haven’t seen anyone in, like, the… theater world kind of touch that topic too much.”
As show time drew closer, Minister and his castmates began to look forward to the thrill of performing live.
“I’m a performer who thrives on adrenaline,” Minister said. “It helps when audiences are clapping and… going along with a bit, and that just sort of feeds the adrenaline, which feeds the performance, which feeds… a positive upward cycle.”